Empire State Today

Congressman John Katko expressed his displeasure toward the new COVID-19 relief bill by posting a statement on Twitter.

The latest COVID-19 relief bill has been criticized by the Republican Party for its huge cost ($1.9 trillion) and they claim that it’s counter-productive to what they are trying to achieve, which is to help the country get back on its feet economically.

Katko is also a vocal opponent of the Democratic-led COVID-19 relief bill and on Twitter he wrote why he opposes it. He focused mainly on the $15 minimum wage hike that is part of the bill and he criticized the Democrats for including that proviso.

He said the wage hike “would cost our country 1.4 million jobs and cripple the very small businesses we should be trying to help.”

Katko criticized the bill because he believes that pressuring companies to provide a $15 minimum wage hike would not help them stay afloat financially since most businesses have had to to trim their budgets due to the pandemic. He said that forcing these businesses to shell out more money for their employees could help those people weather through the pandemic but it could bankrupt those companies.