{"id":1366416,"date":"2022-03-09T08:24:27","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T13:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1366416"},"modified":"2022-03-09T08:26:07","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T13:26:07","slug":"sen-schumer-ready-to-give-more-covid-relief-to-special-interests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-schumer-ready-to-give-more-covid-relief-to-special-interests\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Schumer Ready to Give More COVID Relief to Special Interests"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsen-schumer-ready-to-give-more-covid-relief-to-special-interests%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1366416&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>At a time when inflation is at an all-time high and prices everywhere are soaring, one would think that the best fiscal policy for the U.S. would be whatever means there are of restricting how much money is just flowing out into the economy unchecked, especially things like COVID relief. But sound fiscal policy does not appear to be the name of the game for the Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is set to roll out a government omnibus spending bill that appears to include <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/597117-dems-make-global-offer-on-government-funding-ukraine-covid-19-aid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">upwards of $22 billion in more COVID-19 relief<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The White House has also requested $22.5 billion for coronavirus relief. Republicans have balked at the number, arguing that there needs to be an accounting of how previous coronavirus money was spent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have been working on a bipartisan, bicameral basis through the weekend to finish work on an omnibus package that includes robust assistance to the people and government of Ukraine and additional funds to ensure our country is prepared if and when the next COVID variant strikes,\u201d Schumer wrote in the letter.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It appears to be oddly-timed, considering that reporting on COVID-19 has all but vanished since the Democrats realized that such talk was hurting their poll numbers. And while many Americans are still suffering through an absolute economic disaster, throwing more money at the problem will only make things worse.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans are right in wanting a full accounting of where previous money went, too, because it looks like some special interests are positioning themselves to get a large chunk of it (again).<\/p>\n<p>Among those seeking more COVID relief funds? Some supposedly \u201cindependent\u201d music venues that are members of a group called NIVA. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/independent-venues-niva-and-artists-still-need-covid-relief-us-government-3166253\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">According to New Music Express<\/a>, having already secured a federal bailout earlier in the pandemic (a program called \u201cSave Our Stages\u201d) NIVA now \u201cis lobbying for additional funds to deal with \u2018inflation and worker shortages compounded by the fact that COVID is still ongoing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before I go any further, a quick personal note: Back in the mid-2000s, I was in a high school garage band. We played a couple of venues (bars, mostly) in a nearby larger city. Made decent money and had a good time. Placed in the top five in a Battle of the Bands and played in one of the oldest and most recognizable venues in north Louisiana. You will never find me disrespecting smaller groups and artists, and you\u2019ll never find me opposed to bars that serve as performance venues (or, frankly, bars in general). Clubs like this are the backbone of some of the best performing arts out there.<\/p>\n<p>But while the group focuses press attention on struggling smaller artists and independent venues, like any good Beltway swamp advocacy group, NIVA appears to be a stealth operation for very, very well-heeled interests.<\/p>\n<p>A prominent beneficiary of \u201cSave Our Stages\u201d was Dayna Frank, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nivassoc.org\/board-staff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">who is the President of NIVA<\/a>. She\u2019s such a big deal on the Minneapolis-St. Paul music scene that <a href=\"https:\/\/mspmag.com\/arts-and-culture\/queen-of-clubs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">their local magazine dubbed her the \u201cQueen of Clubs\u201d<\/a>. Frank is so politically well-connected, she was <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/senamyklobuchar\/status\/1498792392769556486?s=21\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sen. Klobuchar\u2019s \u201cVirtual Guest\u201d<\/a> at the 2022 State of the Union Address. No surprise Schumer is probably looking for extra taxpayer cash to throw her way, right? But the thing is, Frank has already had a ton of it, thanks to \u201cSave Our Stages.\u201d According to the Small Business Administration, which administered the program, she has had about $10 million of it. That\u2019s right: <a href=\"https:\/\/data.sba.gov\/dataset\/svog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$10 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"thmimg\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Another prominent NIVA figure who has probably benefited \u2014 or certainly fought for the program \u2014 is more interesting: Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Nirvana. Grohl is a primary investor in DC\u2019s Black Cat club, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nivassoc.org\/board-staff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">and he\u2019s also on NIVA\u2019s advisory board<\/a>. Grohl has a reported net worth of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.celebritynetworth.com\/richest-celebrities\/rock-stars\/dave-grohl-net-worth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$320 million<\/a>, so I sure hope he\/his club, which he could easily have bailed out himself, didn\u2019t get a federal taxpayer bailout. Whether or not he did, he shouldn\u2019t be eligible for one going forward \u2014 either through this Schumer omnibus, or through any other \u201crelief\u201d package Democrats have planned.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s someone else that probably doesn\u2019t need your and my money: Seth Hurwitz. Hurwitz is an \u201cimpresario\u201d and builder of a \u201clive-music empire\u201d that includes DC\u2019s 9:30 Club as well as other venues. On NIVA\u2019s board, as their Vice President, is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nivassoc.org\/board-staff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Audrey Fix Schaefer<\/a> who represents Hurwitz\u2019s interests. Research didn\u2019t turn up a net worth figure for Hurwitz (it did for another guy with the same name), but in 2015 he bought a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/washington\/breaking_ground\/2015\/08\/live-music-maestro-buys-incredibly-short-commute.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$1.349 million penthouse condo in DC<\/a>. The likelihood is that he is not struggling for cash, even if some independent musicians and venues are.<\/p>\n<p>As always, I will never be convinced that omnibus bills are good and proper. Break them apart and piecemeal whatever it is you\u2019re trying to do. Especially right now, where Ukrainian aid is concerned. The Democrats are seeking to fund their friends\u2019 special interests and trying to trap Republicans into doing so by tying it to government funding and Ukrainian aid. But COVID-19 relief should be stripped from the bill regardless of whether this package is broken up or not. It will only make problems worse and it appears to be going to groups who don\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n<p>Schumer is going to need Republican votes to get this thing across the finish line, so it\u2019s imperative that Republicans put their foot down. Start offering things like Ukrainian aid packages in separate bills and force Democrats to kill those bills instead. Don\u2019t vote on something like this omnibus bill, which will either make things worse, fund only special interests, or both.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At a time when inflation is at an all-time high and prices everywhere are soaring, one would think that the best fiscal policy for the U.S. would be whatever means<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1366416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1366416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1366416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1366416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1366416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1366416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1366416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}