Wisconsin Republicans all vote against coronavirus relief plan, with Ron Johnson joining 5 other senators opposing bill

Wisconsin’s six Republicans in Congress all voted no on the huge coronavirus relief package and government funding plan passed by large majorities in both chambers Monday night. The state’s four Democrats voted yes. 

In the Senate, Republican Ron Johnson was one of only six senators to oppose the legislation, which passed 92-6.

In the House, the coronavirus rescue plan, with other government funding attached, passed 359-53. 

The legislation approved by Congress combined a $900 billion coronavirus relief plan with a $1.4 trillion spending bill to fund the federal government through Sept. 30, 2021 (the end of the fiscal year) to form a nearly 5,600 page-bill that is one of the largest pieces of legislation Congress has ever tackled.

It will send millions of Americans direct payments and provide support to thousands of small businesses nationwide struggling to stay open during the pandemic.

Johnson joined five other Senate Republicans in opposing the measure: Marcia Blackburn of Tennessee, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Rick Scott of Florida.

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During debate in the days leading up to passage, Johnson objected to the stimulus checks that were included in the plan, saying they should be more targeted to people who most need them, and called the size of the $900 billion relief package “way too big.”

In a statement Tuesday, Johnson called the overall measure a "monstrosity." 

Johnson said he was "glad a government shutdown was avoided and that financial relief will finally reach many who truly need it," but said, “We do not have an unlimited checking account. We must spend federal dollars — money we are borrowing from future generations — more carefully and place limits on how much we are mortgaging our children’s future.”

Johnson's vote drew fire from at least one Democrat planning to run for Johnson's Senate seat in 2022, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, who said the Republican senator was "more concerned about enriching himself and his millionaire class than providing for the basic needs of millions of Americans hit hard by Covid this holiday season."    

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 Senate Democrat Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin said she voted for the bill because “Wisconsin needs help,” but said, “Our job is not done responding to this public health and economic crisis. In January, we need to come back and start working together with the Biden Administration to provide federal support to Wisconsin that working families, our state, and local communities are going to need next year to get past this deadly pandemic and build back better.”

In the House, Republican Tom Tiffany said in a statement that he would have supported the coronavirus relief measure as a stand-alone bill, but objected to the fact that it was attached to the larger government funding bill.

“The annual budget process in Congress has become the definition of insanity, as we are confronted with the same last-minute, take-it-or-leave it spending bills written behind closed doors with little to no involvement from rank-and-file lawmakers,” he said in a statement.

Republican Mike Gallagher also criticized the combined spending package, saying in a statement, “no one knows what’s all in this bill because no one has actually read this bill. And while there are no doubt long overdue and badly needed provisions — such as $28 billion to support the purchase and distribution of a vaccine — they make up an incredibly small fraction of the nearly $2.3 trillion in spending that we voted on this evening.”

House Democrat Ron Kind called the measure “long overdue.”

“The COVID-19 crisis has created hardships for so many Wisconsin families, workers, and small businesses. While there’s light at the end of the tunnel as COVID-19 vaccines continue to be distributed across the country, people are currently facing serious economic challenges,” he said in a statement.