This week, the Senate appears to be gearing up for a final vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package that has been met with opposition from several Republican Senators. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy recently took to social media to dispel any right-wing misinformation that even his colleagues peddle towards the upcoming proposal.
The Louisiana lawmaker refuted four points that the far-right has peddled regarding the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Cassidy refuted the far-right claims of financing the trillion-dollar proposal and addressed the hard infrastructure, and even whether or not the Critical Race Theory — a popular topic of debate among the far-right — is included in the said proposal. Senators Bill Hagerty and Ted Cruz claimed the public will only support hard infrastructure that does not add to the deficit and that the proposal is not paid for respectively.
Cassidy refuted his colleagues’ points, citing each investment that will be made that was included in the bill. When it came to Cruz’s claim, Cassidy said that the proposal is fully paid for, explaining that the unused unemployment insurance is going to be repurposed for the infrastructure bill and that the Congressional Budget Office is simply not acknowledging that Congress has already allocated the funds. Cassidy also dismissed the claim that far-right figure Christopher Rufo made that Critical Race Theory is included in the infrastructure bill, underlining parts of the bill.
The Louisiana Republican said that CRT is not included in the bill and that the language used in drafting the bill does not affect the existing anti-discrimination laws. Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert also claimed that there was a mileage tax included in the infrastructure bill, which Cassidy also refuted, saying that there is no mileage tax included and there will not be any new tax implemented.
Cassidy then took a swipe at those at the far-right who continue to peddle misinformation regarding the infrastructure bill. “It’s amazing to me some would be so happy to play politics with this. Guess they live in states with brand new roads, new brights, new ports, and perfect coastlines. Must be nice,” wrote the Louisiana lawmaker.
Cassidy also expressed his disagreement towards the ongoing COVID-19 surge that is happening in Florida under the leadership of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. Before entering the Senate, Cassidy, a practicing gastroenterologist, also had some blunt advice for his Republican colleague.
CNN host Dana Bash pressed Cassidy on the recent executive orders that DeSantis was issuing, including banning local officials from imposing mask mandates.
“I do disagree with Governor DeSantis,” said Cassidy. “Local officials should have control here. I don’t want top-down from Washington DC. I don’t want top-down from a governor’s office. Sometimes in cases of national defense, things like that. But if my hospitals are full, vaccination rates are low, and the infection rates are crazy, local officials should be allowed to make those decisions.”