UPDATE: A correction (via CNN)
A White House official, National Economic Council Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti, tweeted on Sunday to try to correct the inaccurate criticism of Salazar.
“I’ve seen some confusion on this. On Friday — separate from the American Rescue bill — SBA announced it was letting 3M+ businesses defer EIDL loan payments for an extra year. We’re glad to see bipartisan support for this and other changes we’ve made to help small businesses,” Ramamurti said.
The Small Business Administration acted “under its own authority,” in consultation with the Biden-Harris team, to make the policy change — not under the American Rescue Plan, a Small Business Administration spokesperson said Monday on condition of anonymity.
Salazar could be accurately criticized for celebrating this one element of Covid relief after having rejected a broad array of other relief policies in the American Rescue Plan. And critics could accurately note that the American Rescue Plan she opposed includes billions in additional funding for small business loans and grants.
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Do These People Have No Shame? Hmm, NO!
Republican Rep Maria Salazar of Florida is sooo proud that she played a role in the ‘bipartisan’ Covid relief package President Biden signed into law on Thursday.
Republican Salazar tweeted: “So proud to announce that the Biden Administration has just implemented my bipartisan COVID relief bill as part of @SBAgov policy!”
But there’s just one little problem with Salazar’s victory lap – she, like every other Republican in the House and Senate, voted against the Democrats’ American Rescue Plan.
Reaction to Salazar’s fake caring and concern was quick. One in particular sums it up:
You voted against it, lady. I hope all your constituents remember that! Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) March 14, 2021
Stayed tuned, more fakers will be taking fake victory laps. Here’s one