The proud tradition of Republican lawmakers touting provisions of the American Rescue Plan that they voted against continues this week.
One entry comes courtesy of a lawmaker with a rather high-profile sibling: Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN), brother of former Vice President Mike Pence.
“Help is on the way” Greg Pence tweeted Wednesday, flanking his tweet with siren emojis.
?Hoosier Small Business Owners?
Help is on the way for those in the food and restaurant industry, who are still in need of assistance through the @SBAgov’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
REGISTRATION: April 30, at 9 a.m. EDT
APPLY: May 3, at noon EDT
Learn more. ⬇️ https://t.co/QtMCKRBJvp
— Rep. Greg Pence (@RepGregPence) April 28, 2021
Pence, like every other Republican in the entirety of Congress, voted against the bill that included the restaurant revitalization funds.
“We consistently direct constituents to information they may find useful,” Hannah Osantowske, Pence’s communications director, told TPM. “Congressman Pence is always looking for a silver lining hiding in a big lump of shit if it helps out his constituents.”
Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) joined the exclusive club Wednesday as well, advertising the same provision of the law.
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund is a program that provides emergency assistance for eligible restaurants, bars, and other qualifying businesses impacted by COVID-19.
To learn more about this program, click on the link below ?https://t.co/dYwkh0zuDA
— Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (@RepBethVanDuyne) April 28, 2021
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) jumped on the bandwagon Thursday afternoon.
Tomorrow at 12 pm ET the @SBA’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund will open to assist restaurants and food establishments in their recovery efforts.
— Congresswoman Tenney (@RepTenney) April 29, 2021
Neither Van Duyne nor Tenney’s offices immediately returned TPM’s request for comment.
The poster-child for the growing group is Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), who also touted the restaurant revitalization measure and got thoroughly thwacked on Twitter for it. Wicker snapped at a reporter who inquired about the seeming hypocrisy, calling it a “stupid question.” “I’m not gonna vote for $1.9 trillion just because it has a couple of good provisions,” he said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) predicted such a GOP turnaround, laying the groundwork during press briefings even before the American Rescue Plan passed on the backs of Democrats back in March. The Republicans will “say no and take the dough” she prophesied.
She was speaking from experience. Back in 2009, Republicans brazenly took credit for funding from former President Barack Obama’s stimulus package despite aggressively campaigning and voting against it.
“I have to point out, though, that some of the very same folks in Congress who opposed the Recovery Act — and claim that it hasn’t worked — have been all too happy to claim credit for Recovery Act projects and the jobs those projects have produced,” a disgruntled Obama said at a 2010 town hall. “They come to the ribbon-cuttings. They found a way to have their cake and vote against it, too.”
This story has been updated with a tweet from Rep. Tenney and a comment from Rep. Pence’s office.
TLDR: “Republicans Still Shameless”
In all fairness…the second tweet isn’t really taking credit for the program. She is simply informing her constituents that it is there for them unlike Pence. We need to be fair about that (not that the GOP would bother with that)
Twitter should institute a “full disclosure” rule and add a comment to these kinds of tweets, such as: “Rep. Pence voted against this legislation in an attempt to prevent these benefits from being available.”
maybe mark them like this
Did not know that there’s a narrator voice app. What will these kids think of next.