Bacon Says We Have to "Reel It In" on Spending Amid Pandemic

July 24, 2020, 1:49 p.m. ·

Congressman Don Bacon
Congressman Don Bacon. (Photo Courtesy of Don Bacon)
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U.S. Congressman Don Bacon says we should expect to see some compromise between House and Senate coronavirus relief packages, which could be about $2 trillion apart. The House passed a $3 trillion package back in May, but the Senate is still debating its package, which is expected to be around $1 trillion.

“We’ve already spent $8 trillion this year and our normal budget is $4.5 trillion,” Bacon said. “If we were going to do the Pelosi plan, we would have been at $11 trillion and it would have been about a $7 trillion deficit. And mind you, we had an $800 billion to $1 trillion deficit as it was, so for fiscal responsibility, we have to reel it in.”

Bacon, a Republican up for re-election in November's 2nd Congressional District race, is confident any new relief package probably won’t include an extension of the $600 weekly unemployment bonus under the CARES Act.

“There is no appetite for $600 a week extension beyond July 31st,” Bacon said. “In Omaha, I’ve heard from many employers that they have a lot of job openings and they can’t fill them right now, because if you’re paying only 110% of what you could get on unemployment, there’s not a lot of incentive to come back to work.”

Bacon is concerned about Nebraskans who are on the edge financially and might have trouble paying their bills without some sort of continued assistance during the pandemic.