Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) said Saturday he believed congressional Republicans would support direct $2,000 payments to Americans in a federal stimulus proposal if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) eliminated pork-barrel spending from the package.

“She’ll get overwhelming Republican support,” Buck said in an interview on Fox & Friends. “She’ll certainly have my support, but just to add a $2,000 payment instead of a $600 payment to the pork that’s in the bill is just unacceptable.

“I absolutely am in favor of giving the American people $2,000,” he added. “I think it’s the right move. I think the president’s absolutely right, but that’s only part of what the president is suggesting. Nancy Pelosi gave these members of the House just a few hours to read 6,000 pages of legislation. She did that because she had stuffed this bill full of pork.”

“We are funding — in a Covid relief bill — we are funding two new museums to women’s history,” he added. “We are funding social engineering programs in Pakistan. We are funding a panel to examine a succession to the Dalai Lama — all sorts of pork projects in this bill.”

Members of both parties have widely supported increasing $600 direct individual payments in the $900 billion stimulus package to $2,000, including Pelosi and President Donald Trump. Republican leaders in Congress have scuttled those efforts — despite dissent from members of their own party — citing an estimated $300 billion increase in the cost of the proposal.

“What the president is saying is, make America first,” Buck said. “Bring America — make America the priority, so stop funding foreign projects in a Covid relief bill, knock that out, and take that money and use it to … give the American people a $2,000 check. If Nancy Pelosi does that, I think she’ll get overwhelming Republican support. She’ll certainly have my support, but just to add a $2,000 payment instead of a $600 payment to the pork that’s in the bill is just unacceptable.”

Watch above via Fox News.

The post Rep. Buck: Republicans Could Give ,000 Payments 'Overwhelming Support' if Pork Spending Eliminated from Stimulus first appeared on Mediaite.

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