Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., slammed the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed by Senate Democrats Saturday, listing off a number of convicted murderers who would receive stimulus checks under the bill.
House Democrats plan to offer their final approval of the bill Tuesday before sending it to President Biden’s desk. The bill includes $1,400 stimulus checks for individuals who make less than $75,000, Fox News reported.
Inmates are included among those who receive stimulus checks, just as they were in both of the previous Covid relief bills that offered $1,200 and $600 checks.
Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Cotton and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, offered an amendment on the floor Saturday to block checks from prisoners. It failed on a party-line vote, 49-50. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., argued that prisoners’ children could be affected by withholding the money from them.
“Prisoners have all their living and medical expenses paid for by the taxpayer, they don’t pay taxes, they don’t contribute to the tax base, they can’t be unemployed. Inmates are not economically impacted by Covid,” Cassidy argued.
“Dylann Roof murdered nine people. He’s on federal death row,” Cotton wrote on Twitter. “He’ll be getting a $1,400 stimulus check as part of the Democrats’ ‘COVID relief’ bill.
Dylann Roof murdered nine people. He's on federal death row.
He'll be getting a $1,400 stimulus check as part of the Democrats' "COVID relief" bill.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 6, 2021
“Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Bomber, murdered three people and terrorized a city,” Cotton wrote in a separate tweet. “He’ll be getting a $1,400 stimulus check as part of the Democrats’ ‘COVID relief’ bill.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Bomber, murdered three people and terrorized a city.
He'll be getting a $1,400 stimulus check as part of the Democrats' "COVID relief" bill.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 6, 2021
“Aaron Shamo was sentenced to life in prison for selling “1 million fentanyl-laced fake oxycodone pills to unsuspecting buyers,” Cotton wrote. “He’ll be getting a $1,400 stimulus check while in prison from the Democrats’ ‘COVID relief’ bill.”
