Infrastructure
Elise Stefanik

Rep. Elise Stefanik

House Republican Conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) recently patted herself on the back for a $1.8 million federal grant a community within her district received. However, that money came from a bill she and every other Republican opposed.

Local publication North Country This Week — based in Stefanik's 21st House District in upstate New York — reported that the US Department of Agriculture grant went toward the South Raquette Water District in Massena, NY. Stefanik took credit for the funding, telling the outlet that she helped fast-track the grant application through the House Appropriations Committee to quickly get the funds approved.

"Infrastructure has been a top priority for some time and I am able to offer assistance in a very targeted way, whether it be for water projects, sewer projects or supporting our first responders," she said.

"I am proud to announce that I secured $1,857,000 for a Water District Development Project for the Town of Massena in this year’s appropriations process," Stefanik wrote in a Tuesday tweet. "This funding will go toward providing public water service to the residents of Massena."

Stefanik didn't actually vote for those funds, which were part of the Inflation Reduction Act that passed the House of Representatives in 2022. In a now-deleted statement posted to her House.gov website, she called the legislation a "radical spending bill that will raise taxes and crush hardworking families and small businesses."

"[Democrats] have made their priorities clear, and they are not for the American people. I will continue to stand up against reckless government spending and any tax increases," Stefanik said at the time, adding that the bill "also wastes $350 billion on 'Green New Deal' provisions that prioritize large cities over rural communities."

Others on X/Twitter took issue with Stefanik boasting about her district receiving the funds she voted against. In addition to a community note (a public fact-checking feature on the platform) specifying that Stefanik "voted Nay along party lines with every other Republican" against the bill, she was also slammed by various journalists, public figures and commentators for her tweet.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

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Joe Biden
President Joe Biden
Joe Biden

President Joe Biden called it back at the State of the Union address in February: Republicans who voted against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act would soon be claiming credit when the funding arrived. As he said then, “I promised I’d be a president for all Americans. We’ll fund these projects. And I’ll see you at the groundbreaking.” He’s had cause to use that line more than once since, taunting the Republicans who did just as he predicted—most recently, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

McCarthy is from California, but he toured a Syracuse factory while in town to raise money for Rep. Brandon Williams. Syracuse.com’s Glenn Coin did a stellar job covering McCarthy’s visit, from the headline—“House Speaker McCarthy tours Syracuse factory benefiting from legislation he voted against”—to a write-up that included pertinent information like the specific “Buy American” provision of the infrastructure law that JMA Wireless is benefitting from. The article additionally noted that “McCarthy also opposed the CHIPS and Science Act, which Micron Technology said is essential to its plan to invest up to $100 billion in a semiconductor plant in the town of Clay.”

McCarthy weakly tried to explain his presence. “I don’t want government controlling and picking the winners and losers,” he said. “I actually like the private sector, exactly what JMA is doing. It’s their investment of $50 million that created something, and now government can be a partner.” He still voted against the law that created ways for the government to be “a partner” in boosting U.S. manufacturing, including at the very plant he was visiting.

McCarthy’s not alone in what former Speaker Nancy Pelosi referred to as “vote no and take the dough.”

Sen. Tommy Tuberville recently touted investments in broadband technology in Alabama (a state he represents even if he doesn’t live there), without mentioning that he’d voted against the funding. Biden responded not just with a tweet but in live comments in Chicago, saying, “It's not a surprise it's bringing along some converts … Well there's a guy named Tuberville—senator from Alabama—Tuberville, who announced he strongly opposed the legislation. Now he's hailing its passage.”

Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi and Tom Cotton and John Boozman of Arkansas similarly played up federal money coming to their states despite having voted against the funding. And Sen. John Cornyn made a visit to a Texas Tesla factory after having whined about the Inflation Reduction Act offering “handouts for rich folks who want to buy electric vehicles.” Tesla is expanding U.S. manufacturing due to the IRA’s clean energy tax credits.

Trying to take credit for funding they voted against is the Republican way. This time, they’re dealing with a president who told the country ahead of time what was going to happen and is calling it out, one incident after another.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.