Todd Young: Next stimulus bill must focus only on COVID recovery

America has just been through a national economic nightmare. Almost overnight, our economy went from the best in generations—benefiting Americans across all income groups—to a pandemic-induced downturn that essentially shut down our nation’s red-hot economy.

Five times now, the Senate has come together in a bipartisan way to provide relief, spending a staggering—but necessary—$4.1 trillion. We’ve provided assistance to families, schools, essential workers, small businesses and unemployed Americans, and we’ve supplied resources for testing and vaccinations. Most recently, former President Trump signed a $900 billion bipartisan assistance package into law, much of which has still not been spent.

Many mainstream economists are projecting strong economic growth for 2021 as our economy opens back up. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that, even with no additional federal assistance, our economy will continue to strengthen over the next five years. And top economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal say the economy and labor market are recovering more quickly than expected.

While some American sectors and individuals will take longer to bounce back than others, I am cautiously optimistic that our economy appears to be heading in the right direction, thanks to the recovery efforts taken over the last year.

But we are not out of the woods yet. We must continue to carefully evaluate the need for further assistance and ensure any additional federal aid is responsibly and effectively targeted. Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in Congress seem intent on brazenly advancing a partisan $1.9 trillion spending bill that is heavier on long-standing liberal priorities, like doubling the minimum wage and bailing out fiscally irresponsible states, than on actual COVID-19 relief.

This is why I’ve joined with nine of my Republican colleagues to work with the new president and our Democratic congressional colleagues so that we might reach a compromise and continue to recover from this public health emergency in a rapid, targeted and bipartisan fashion.

We have proposed a $618 billion package to administer more vaccines and enable our kids to get back to school and adults to get back to work. Our proposal also more narrowly focuses emergency assistance where needed until our economy can reach projected heights and our free enterprise system can resume sustaining all of our nation’s people again.

When we met with President Biden in the Oval Office to discuss our more targeted approach, I was pleased that he offered a courteous ear and appeared ready to work with Republicans to find common ground and unity, just as he promised during his campaign and inaugural address.

The president has emphasized his desire for unity, but actions from his Democratic counterparts in Congress aren’t matching up to his rhetoric. Their plan to ram a one-sided COVID-19 package through Congress without bipartisan negotiation is the exact opposite of unity. I’m extremely disappointed that this is the approach Democrats in Congress have chosen to take, and I’m concerned about the long-term consequences for our economy and financial stability.

We can debate the merits of non-emergency policy proposals later and consider them in another context. We must focus our efforts right now solely on recovery. I’ll continue working with my colleagues in the Senate and with the Biden administration to advocate for this more targeted approach.

We have a choice: smart growth through targeted, bipartisan action or a divided approach that will have lasting consequences for our nation and our hopes at unity.•

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Young, a Republican, is Indiana’s senior U.S. senator and an attorney who lives in Bloomington.