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WASHINGTON, D.C., December 23, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – After months of failed negotiations and partisan finger-pointing, Congress has approved a $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill mixing direct relief for Americans and businesses struggling amid lockdowns with millions in spending on unrelated left-wing causes.

Per the Associated Press, the deal contains a $600 direct payment to most Americans, a temporary $300 per week supplementary jobless benefit, and various subsidies for schools, businesses, and healthcare providers affected by COVID-19 and the restrictions imposed by various state and local governments in response.

The 5,593-page bill passed 92-6 in the Senate and 359-53 in the House of Representatives Monday, just hours after release, before lawmakers had an opportunity to carefully study its contents.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a populist conservative considered by some a future presidential contender, upset some in his own base by supporting the bill:

While some have derided the $600 direct payments as insufficient, others have focused on the deal’s inclusion of spending and law changes on interests entirely unrelated to COVID-19 or lockdowns, from climate change to horse racing to the Kennedy Center and more:

“While leadership assured us that this wouldn’t bail out state and local governments that are destroying small businesses with lockdowns, it contains billions in funds for things like transit systems and infrastructure funds that will fill out their budgets all the same,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX). “It adds over $80 billion in education funding—including a slush fund for governors — that will make it easier for schools to stay closed while their students’ grades are plummeting while being taught America is evil. It gives billions to the very colleges and universities that have massive endowments yet are indoctrinating students with anti-American propaganda.”

Calling on Trump to veto the measure, Roy added that “this bill was produced by legislative malpractice. The people’s representatives were locked out of this process. We didn’t get bill text until just before 2 p.m. Monday. The bill was almost 5,600 pages long. They didn’t want us to read it. They just wanted us to pass it. Given what is in it, it is easy to see why.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hinted Monday the president would sign the package by announcing the administration plans to start sending out relief checks “at the beginning of next week.” But Tuesday evening Trump threatened to veto it unless “wasteful items” were removed and the $600 checks to individuals were increased to $2,000. Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who initially touted the $600 sum as “significant,” subsequently agreed to pass $2,000 by unanimous consent.