House Republicans are planning to introduce a bill to take back the $25 million that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts received in the COVID-19 response bill, citing the fact that the center furloughed orchestra members hours after the bill was signed into law.
Wisconsin Republican Rep. Bryan Steil said he planned to introduce the bill that would take back the money given to the center, according to the Washington Examiner.
“This money should be spent fighting the virus or in taxpayers’ pockets!” Steil tweeted.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise voiced his support for the idea Monday night on Fox News.
“Nancy Pelosi literally held the bill up for days to get her pet projects including the money for the Kennedy Center. Interesting she’d use the choice of words ‘fiddlers’ because it was the fiddlers, the violin players, all the musicians at the Kennedy Center that got laid off right as the bill got signed,” Scalise told Tucker Carlson.
“They ought to give that money back,” Scalise said.
In the middle of a national emergency, Nancy Pelosi fought to give the Kennedy Center $25 MILLION…and then they stopped paying their musicians anyway.
RT if you agree → Congress should take that money back and give it to hospitals and hardworking families in need. pic.twitter.com/RtY354yUoc
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) March 31, 2020
“But it shows you how misguided Pelosi’s priorities were,” Scalise added.
The Democrats included $25 million in taxpayer funding for the Kennedy Center in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which they were originally criticized for before winning the support of President Donald Trump himself.
“That was a Democrat request. That was not my request,” Trump said.
“But you got to give them something.”
Hours after Trump signed the $2 trillion CARES Act into law Friday, an email obtained by the Washington Free Beacon said 96 members of the National Symphony Orchestra will no longer receive paychecks after April 3.
“The Covid-19 Advisory Committee was broadsided today during our conversation with [Kennedy Center President] Deborah Rutter,” the email read.
“Ms. Rutter abruptly informed us today that the last paycheck for all musicians and librarians will be April 3 and that we will not be paid again until the Center reopens.”
The email added that orchestra members should continue as if their April 3 paycheck will be their last.
“We understand this will come [as a] shock to all of you, as it did us,” the email read.
On March 12, the Kennedy Center announced it would cancel all public performances and events and shut its doors to the public through March 31.
The cancelations were later extended through May 10.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, the president of the Local 161-710 of the American Federation of Musicians criticized the center for its decision.
“This decision, from an organization with an endowment of nearly $100 million, is not only outrageous - coming after the musicians had expressed their willingness to discuss ways to accommodate the Kennedy Center during this challenging time - it is also blatantly illegal under the parties’ collective bargaining agreement,” Ed Malaga said.
“That agreement specifically requires that the Center provide six weeks’ notice before it can stop paying musicians for economic reasons.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
Yeah, take back the $25 million from these assholes. That Rutter but h needs to be fired. She’s taking that money fir herself, family and friends. She’s a fucking criminal. She needs to get her sorry ass kicked.
Rutter bitch……..
Rutter sucks dicks.
Democraps eat shit. Fucking cocksuckers.
Right on. BLOWME. Democrapeaters are sorry ass cocksuckers.
Liberals are dumbass motherfuckers.
Leave it to pelosi to give it to her friend , she lies so much her teeth want to jump out of her mouth ! She’s not human , a monster ! Frankenstein has better sense . Democrats have failed at everything !
Did the DNC get $5million from the Kennedy Center as one Twitter post indicated? This would be money laundering with Pelosi to blame.
Also need to investigate how the $350million is being spent on refugee resettlement. Who got this money? Where are these refugees, who are actually the people who illegally crossed our southern border? Where are they being resettled to, and how are they getting there? This resettling can spread the virus with them traveling anywhere. Besides, we are on a stay at home order with travel advisories. So why would they be crowd gathered to travel anywhere?
Don’t forget the very liberal Public Broadcasting got $100M. They will not air any of the virus updates, and always have slanted views about the President. They allow liberals to air their Hate Trump ‘thinktanks’, and show programs that foster anything to do with every sexual perversion there is known. Of course, they also show some classic movies, if they foster socialism. They would NEVER show “Gone With The Wind”.
The Kennedy Center board members donate to the DNC. They also accept donations from private corporate sources, which end up in the DNC coffers. It is laundering in any sense of the word. Some giant corporations want to donate boatloads of dollars, but hit their limit; then they funnel the rest through organizations like the Kennedy Center.
Why are we as American taxpayers sitting back and allowing politicians like Pelosi to play games with OUR tax dollars instead of doing the job they were elected to do? She has not done or been responsible for doing ONE POSITIVE thing for OUR country for the past three years. Why can’t we hold her accountable for wrong doing and REMOVE her from the position that she holds? Wake up AMERICA ! She is not a good representative of Who and What we are.
Ghost the same reason you’re letting the Trumpzilla family steal millions of our tax money, and don’t deny their not, the emoluments clause is his new charity to siphon off millions of dollars. Why isn’t Trumpzilla doing the job he was hired to do instead of flying around the country for his hate rallies all paid for with our tax dollars air Force 1 ain’t cheap to fly in, and don’t forget while the world was fighting the virus he was too busy playing golf and claiming it was a Democrat hoax, we invented it because of the results of his impeachment. Another thing how stupid do you really have to be that all democrats want to die from a virus just to destroy his reelection, you people are really that stupid indeed, none of us wants any of our family members to die, my God you RETARDicans are over the top with stupidity that’s why I call you RETARDicans you really are retarded indeed.
stop being such a hateful very STUPID turd and wake up. it is people like you that continue to support these lying, corrupt dems. what is wrong with you? are you an illegal?
Can’t fix stupid . . . By-product of the welfare system.
I’m satisfied this is an instigator plant to force comments. Best to ignore. Write remarkably like two other posters. Same poor grammar, pentameter and talking points, with specific names repeated.
I would like to hear Pelosi explain this one. Her choppers will have to be very well glued. And Jim Acosta, would be a good reporter to question her. Tucker could be right besides both of them, to make sure he asks the need to know questions. None of this bs questioning and put her on live TV. Don’t let Pelosi get away that easy.
Kennedy center board should refuse money in light of epidemic and show Pelosi how ignorant and selfish she is. Taking money from infected and financially hurting people!
One can hope the “Kennedy Center board” members would have a soul, and do the right thing, but I wouldn’t hold your breath on that idea. Deborah Rutter is the Board President, but the board votes on all decisions.
The Congressmen who authored the bill most probably will hit a demonrat wall, and the bill will ‘be tabled’ (dead-files).
They’ll get the money back with the Kennedy Center fighting tooth and nail, kicking and screaming. They’ve supported many demonrat politicians over the years, and I’m sure they feel they’ve earned it . . .
I just don’t understand why Pill-osi thought they needed any money in the first place. They have an endowment to take care of ALL their bills forever. Even if the market crashed, they’d still have money to pay bills as they are for years to come. The first draft of the bill Pill-osi submitted had 125 Million for the Kennedy Center. The 25 Million awarded is from the 3rd or 4th draft . . . There MUST be some ‘payola’ (Quid-pro-quo) going on there . . .
Gerry don’t forget all those millions Jarod is asking for to bail him out for his rental property, but I guess that’s ok with you cause his daddy is Trumpzilla if he gets one red cent I hope you make just as much noise then moron. He already put in his request for a bailout and told his renters they better pay up what a great role model for you to look up to another con man who is learning from the biggest con man who conned millions of you morons into thinking he cares about anybody but himself, but then again you’re a cult follower that’s too stupid to know you’re a cult follower.
That would be a good start but is unlikely to get past House democrats. By the way: today has been set aside to honor all democrat politicians.
This would be wonderful!!! These dem bullies need to go away!!!!!!!!!!
We have sailors dying on a ship and good old Pelosi has to give the money to Kennedy center with the stay at home what good does it do. She needs to spend a week on board a navy carrier. Maybe her priorities will change.
Donna News Flash it’s not Pelosi job to help those sailors it’s trumpzilla’s he’s the commander in chief after all but he’s a draft dodging coward so what else could you expect from a coward who never served he was hidding behind mommy’s skirt, now he’s letting sailors die go figure.
sounds like another corrupt pocket filling dem. can’t the other dems in the house or in the world see what is wrong with this hateful, corrupt alcoholic bitch? she has one agenda and it certainly isn’t to support the american worker