In the third season of The West Wing, the personal aide to the President, Charlie Young, has a conversation with White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry about a stimulus payment he received. McGarry asks, “Did you spend it?” Charlie says, “I paid my VISA bill.” Leo replied, “We would have preferred it if you'd ate in a restaurant or traveled.” Later, when discussing the issue again, President Josiah Barlet jokingly asks Charlie, “A trip to Banana Republic would have killed you?”

On behalf of FreedomWorks’ activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to cosponsor the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act, H.R. 8007, introduced by Reps. Mark Green (R-T.N.) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii). This bill would simply eliminate the provision of the recently-passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that allows the Federal Reserve to hold closed-door meetings about its newly-created $450 billion bailout fund, which is more vital now than ever as we continue to observe the alarming lack of transparency that has come along with the Federal Reserve’s new authorities.

The COVID-19 crisis has held the United States in a public health and economic headlock since the start of quarantine periods about two months ago. Each week shows increased job loss, victims of the virus, and emotional health problems. FreedomWorks activists are, sadly, not immune to the devastation inflicted by Coronavirus.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to support the Getting Americans Back to Work Act, H.R. 6805. Introduced by Reps. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Ken Buck (R-Colo.), the Getting Americans Back to Work Act would fix a glaring error in the CARES Act that could create a shortage of workers as states begin to reopen their economies.

A rushed legislative process often has unintended consequences. Language is hastily written. Policies that are included aren’t fully thought through. The most important thing in the minds of lawmakers is to “do something.” Certainly, something had to be done in response to COVID-19, but aspects of the Phase III response, the CARES Act, will almost certainly hurt the economic recovery. One aspect of the CARES Act that will hurt the recovery is the enhanced unemployment benefits for Americans who’ve lost their jobs due to disruptions caused by COVID-19.

On Friday, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) sent a letter with 20 of his colleagues to President Trump urging him to oppose any additional coronavirus relief packages while our country awaits the full impact of the last three phases, including the most recent $2.3 Trillion CARES Act. Among the signers of the letter are Republican Study Committee Chairman Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), renowned budget hawk Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), and others.

Only a few days after Congress passed a massive $2.3 trillion bill, the CARES Act, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, some in Congress are already eyeing a “Phase IV” bill as a vehicle for their pet legislative priorities that have nothing to do with the pandemic. As we learned last week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was more than willing to use this crisis to shill for leftist policies, but it’s becoming a bipartisan problem.

Americans are still trying to figure out what to make of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only a few weeks ago, the American economy was doing well, and employers were hiring. Today, many governors have essentially shut down commerce and effectively suspended some protected civil liberties by mandating the practice of social distancing in their states.