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Pakistani 'gender programs,' horse-racing integrity, climate monitoring in Tibet: Just a few of the ridiculous things thrown into the COVID relief, omnibus package
Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Pakistani 'gender programs,' horse-racing integrity, climate monitoring in Tibet: Just a few of the ridiculous things thrown into the COVID relief omnibus package

Prepare to be very disappointed in your government

On Monday, Congress passed a long-awaited $900 billion coronavirus relief bill as a part of a $2.3 trillion omnibus spending package to fund the the government through next September, and as you might expect, the behemoth piece of legislation included far more than just stimulus checks and pay for government workers.

In fairness to the nation's lawmakers, they were only granted a handful of hours to review the more than 5,000-page document before they were expected to vote for its passage. It's doubtful that anyone outside congressional leadership read it, but nevertheless it received overwhelming support from both Republicans and Democrats in both chambers.

Now that the legislation has been approved, details about what exactly is in it have started to trickle out — and, needless to say, it's not pretty.

What are the details?

Included in the bill are millions of dollars to fund "gender programs" in Pakistan, fund new cars for federal HIV/AIDS workers, and establish a Climate Security Advisory Council, according to Grabien Media founder Tom Elliott, who posted a lengthy Twitter thread with snapshots of the document Monday night.

Money is even set aside to fund an investigation of the "1908 Springfield Race Riot" and enforce horse-racing integrity.

Evidently, lawmakers thought it unacceptable not to provide funding for a museum to celebrate "the life, art, history, and culture of women." Oh and they also made sure to appropriate funding for programs to discourage teenagers from drinking under age and engaging in unsafe sex.

Townhall reporter Beth Baumann even discovered a section of the bill where millions of dollars are set aside to monitor the climate change taking place in Tibet.

What else?

In a blistering speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) denounced the bill and called out the so-called conservatives who abandoned their "soul" and their "fiscal integrity" to vote for it.

"If free money was the answer ... if money really did grow on trees, why not give more free money? Why not give it out all the time?" the senator asked.

"Why stop at $600 a person? Why not $1,000? Why not $2,000?" he said in reference to the forthcoming stimulus checks set to be distributed to every American. "Maybe these new Free-Money Republicans should join the Everybody-Gets-A-Guaranteed-Income Caucus? Why not $20,000 a year for everybody, why not $30,000? If we can print out money with impunity, why not do it?"

The legislation passed in the Senate by a vote of 91-6. Five Republicans — Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Rick Scott (Fla.), Mike Lee (Utah), and Ron Johnson (Wis.) — joined Paul to vote against the bill. Prior to that, the bill passed in the House by a vote of 359-53, with only 53 members — 50 Republicans, 2 Democrats, and 1 independent — disapproving.

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