Amendments include prohibiting stimulus payments to Members of Congress, creation of a special education opportunity scholarship program, blocking GITMO detainees from getting vaccine prioritization
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced more than 30 amendments to the budget resolution, ahead of a marathon voting session on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
“I continue to listen to the concerns of North Carolinians and am working hard to introduce legislation that addresses those concerns and put the needs of North Carolinians first,” said Senator Tillis. “The amendments introduced all focus on important issues impacting North Carolinians, including prioritizing COVID-19 vaccine access, increasing economic and educational opportunities, assisting our hardworking farmers, and prioritizing public safety. I look forward to bringing these important and commonsense amendments to the floor for a vote.”
The amendments filed include:
COVID-19 Relief
Prioritize Pre-existing Conditions:
Prevent legislation that would delay the availability of COVID-19 countermeasures for individuals with pre-existing health conditions.
Alternative COVID-19 Education Options:
Prevents legislation that would weaken alternative options for learning, including charter schools, home-schooling, and private schools, needed to increase educational access and reduce learning loss for students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
No Economic Impact Payments for Congress:
Disallows the Department of the Treasury from sending Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) to members of Congress or personal staff.
Special Education Opportunity Scholarship Program:
Creates a special education opportunity scholarship to assist disadvantaged students with physical and learning disabilities and their families with tuition assistance at nonpublic schools if their school is not open for in-person instruction so that they can continue to receive much needed services and special education during the COVID-19 pandemic.
School Reopening Funding Only for Reopened Schools:
Prevent legislation that would provide COVID-19 reopening funds to any elementary or secondary school that chooses not to reopen for in-person academic instruction by April 30, 2021.
Tax Credit for Tutoring or Private School:
Provides refundable tax credits for parents who incur tutoring or private school tuition costs during the COVID–19 pandemic, which may include parents in school districts in which teachers have refused to return to work after the request of the local educational agency.
Law and Order
Qualified Immunity for Law Enforcement:
Prevents legislation that would limit or eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement officers through existing law enforcement programs and activities.
Protect and Serve:
Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to develop policies by punishing those who assault or attempt to assault law enforcement officers with up to 10 years in prison, and up to life in prison for who those kidnap or attempt to kidnap, or those who kill or attempt to kill a law enforcement officer.
Stop Sanctuary Cities:
Prevents funding economic development grants to sanctuary city jurisdictions which decline to honor immigration detainers or share information with federal immigration authorities.
Public Benefits for Illegal Immigrants:
Prevents legislation which would permit illegal immigrants to access any non-emergency related public benefits derived from federal funds.
Cyberattack Disclosure:
Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to improving the cyber-attack disclosure by private companies to the federal government to protect against future cyber-attacks.
Prevent Foreign Aid Funding for Abortions:
Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to prohibit United States foreign aid to organizations that provide abortion services.
Prohibit Red-Flag Laws:
Prevents legislation to create new initiatives to provide funding to states that enact so-called “Red Flag Law” legislation that includes an ex-parte hearing.
Keep the Supreme Court at Nine:
Prevents legislation which would increase the number of Supreme Court Justices.
Servicemembers and Veterans
Prioritize Domestic Needs Over GITMO Detainees:
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to prioritize allocation of COVID–19 vaccines to meet domestic need before making such vaccines available to detainees at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, and Cuba.
VA Toxic Exposure:
Establishes an enduring mechanism for the Department of Veterans Affairs to use to identify, research, and employ evidence-based decision making to ensure that veterans from past, present, and future eras with adverse health outcomes related to toxic exposures encountered during service in the Armed Forces have access to health care and benefits.
Banking and Economy
Maximum Private Participation in Any Real Time Payments Service:
Ensures that private participation in any real-time payments service is utilized to the maximum extent.
Anti-Automatic Stabilizers in COVID-19 Recovery:
Disallows the use of automatic stabilizer provisions in economic recovery packages due to the need of tight Congressional control of funding given the high burden of U.S. national debt owed by the federal government.
Anti-Choke Point:
Provides certainty that member banks and financial institutions cannot refuse service to, apply atypical costs to, or otherwise discriminate against any legal business due to differing political beliefs.
No Additional Financial Transaction Taxes:
Prevent legislation that would allocate funding to any agency or department of the federal government for the purpose of enacting any additional financial transaction taxes.
Agriculture
Federal Crop Insurance:
Prevents legislation that would prohibit payment by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation of any portion of the premium for a policy or plan of insurance for any legal agricultural commodity.
H-2A Wage Freeze:
Freezes the Adverse Effect Wage Rate for the H-2A guest worker program for calendar years 2021 and 2022 to provide stability to the agricultural economy, spur economic recovery in rural America, and sustain American competitiveness.
Economic Development
Prioritize Rural Grant Spending:
Prioritizes rural communities in allocating federal grant resources.
Prioritize Military Infrastructure-Transportation Corridors:
Directs the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, to prioritize federal investment in military infrastructure projects and military transportation corridors that meet future operational and logistical requirements that address national strategic objectives.
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