Billboard by airport lauds Biden, Nevada senators for COVID relief bill
Updated April 5, 2021 - 2:28 pm
The Democratic National Committee unveiled a new billboard advertisement near McCarran International Airport on Monday thanking President Joe Biden and Nevada Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto for their work in passing the American Rescue Plan, the country’s most recent COVID-19 stimulus package.
“Folks in Las Vegas and senators traveling home won’t be able to miss this message: Help is here because of President Biden, Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen and Nevada Democrats,” said DNC Chair Jaime Harrison.
The billboard specifically mentions the $1,400 stimulus checks given to many Americans, as well as additional funding for reopening schools and administering COVID-19 vaccine.
“Because of (Biden, Rosen and Cortez Masto’s) leadership, help is here: 86 percent of Nevada’s adult population and 90 percent of children— more than 1.8 million adults and 750,900 million children — will receive direct payments of up to $1,400,” the DNC said in a statement.
The DNC also purchased all of the digital advertising space in the Review-Journal’s Friday online news section. In March, the Democrats’ ran television ads touting the legislation.
The $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed with zero votes and heated opposition from Republicans, who criticized sections of the legislation they believed were not at all related to the pandemic.
“Despite Democrats’ attempts to sell this boondoggle to the public, a mere nine percent is going to COVID relief, and the rest is going to items on their liberal wish list,” Republican National Committee spokesman Keith Schipper said. “This might be the desperate attempt to get ahead of it (before the 2022 election), but the cake is baked.”
Republicans have pushed the nine percent figure, which represents the money allocated to testing and vaccination. But proponents of the bill argue the hundreds of billions allocated to local governments, schools and increased unemployment benefits are also directly related to the pandemic.
Contact Rory Appleton at rappleton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0276. Follow @RoryDoesPhonics on Twitter.