‘Monstrosity’ Congressional Bill with Covid-19 Relief Package Included, Reportedly Contains Over $40 Million For the Kennedy Center

Count GOP House Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) as one who is fed up with the latest spending bill including a Coronavirus relief package that is expected to be voted through tonight.

Earlier, Armstrong tweeted, “We’ve had a 5,500 page page bill for a little over an hour now. Instead of getting COVID relief out to people months ago we are being forced to vote on this monstrosity without having any meaningful time to go through it. This. Is. Insane.”

We’ve had a 5,500 page page bill for a little over an hour now. Instead of getting COVD relief out to people months ago we are being forced to vote on this monstrosity without having any meaningful time to go through it. This. Is. Insane.

— Congressman Kelly Armstrong (@RepArmstrongND) December 21, 2020

Armstrong then tweeted, “Since we have 6 hours to read the ‘COVID relief bill’ let’s do it together.” Armstrong then listed two things in the bill that he considered to be “Commonsense” – “More funding for rural broadband and telemedicine” and “assistance for farmers and ranchers feeding America.”

Armstrong then listed four things that he considered to be “Nonsense” and included in that was “another $26 million for the Kennedy Center.”

Since we have 6 hours to read the ‘COVID relief bill’ let’s do it together:

Commonsense ✅
Nonsense ❌

✅ more funding for rural broadband and telemedicine
✅ assistance for farmers and ranchers feeding America

— Congressman Kelly Armstrong (@RepArmstrongND) December 21, 2020

❌ another $26 million for the Kennedy Center
❌ 75% federal match funding for the fight against murder hornets

— Congressman Kelly Armstrong (@RepArmstrongND) December 21, 2020

Journalist Tom Elliott listed the figure as potentially totaling over $40 million as there were two separate windfalls of money for the performing arts center in the text of the bill that he tweeted.

The Covid relief bill provides $40 million for the Kennedy Center pic.twitter.com/aHt8UEkYWA

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) December 21, 2020

Earlier we reported:

The March Coronavirus relief bill sparked outrage when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) was able to secure $25 million for the Kennedy Center to help supposedly keep that venue afloat.

This time around, it is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-Ny.), along with Pelosi, who was able to secure a reported $15 billion to fund Broadway theaters and other entertainment venues in the latest $900 billion agreed upon Coronavirus relief bill.

This article was edited to clarify that the Covid-19 relief is only part of a larger bill that was proposed. The Kennedy center funding was not directly part of the Covid-19 relief package.