Relief bill is full of unneeded political pork

Please understand, I am all in favor of helping those that are really in need, of spending money to retrain people whose jobs may not come back, etc. However, I have personally gone through some of the proposed stimulus bill and it is full of spending that has nothing to do with helping those in 'need” and the fact that these expenditures are consciously added to the bill by our elected officials does nothing but reinforce the opinion that our government is broken.

Also, on top of the non-pandemic related spending are billions of dollars that are 'allocated” now, but 'available” through 2023. The fact that this bill is being touted as 'immediate support” for 'immediate needs” and still contain allocations that can lay dormant to 2023 is offensive and I can't believe any individual or any group can claim they're acting in the best interest of those suffering from the results of the pandemic. Why hasn't the public been told about these items in the bill? My only conclusion is that everyone in the government has 'a little pork in the stew” and thus everyone is afraid to 'stir the pot. Think about this: If you lived to be 80 years old, to accumulate a trillion dollars, you would have to earn 34 million each day of your life and our government loads this bill with non-related junk that helps bring the total to $1.9 trillion and they want us to cheer?

Steve Springer

Cedar Rapids