Fox News’ supposed “straight news” programs have been echoing attacks from a memo listing Republican talking points that attack President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which aims to speed recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fox News has long acted as the GOP’s communications arm, especially when Democrats were in power in Congress and the White House. In the past, Fox has adopted Republican talking points about health care legislation and stimulus bills, sometimes directly copying GOP press releases and memos -- typos and all. And Fox’s history of echoing Republican talking points goes on and on.

This pattern continues under the Biden administration, with more than a dozen examples of Fox figures echoing the Republican attacks on Biden’s bill since the Republican Study Committee -- a congressional caucus of conservative Republicans that pushes for right-wing policies -- released a memo about the bill on February 16. And many of the provisions that both the GOP and Fox are attacking as unnecessary and supposedly unrelated to the pandemic or recovery are in fact desperately needed and directly tied to the pandemic.

The fact is that the American Rescue Plan is enormously popular and enjoys substantial bipartisan support from voters. The GOP smears of the bill aim to erode that popularity by claiming it’s full of “liberal goodies” -- something Fox anchor Dana Perino outright admitted when she said, “It’s got a 70% approval rating in the country, but people haven’t heard the details yet. And that’s what we’re trying to do here.”

Fox echoed GOP attack on including a minimum wage increase in the bill

RSC talking point: “New federally mandated minimum wage would result in 1.4 million jobs lost, with younger Americans with less formal education being hardest hit.” [Republican Study Committee, 2/16/21]

Fox News contributor Charlie Hurt: The bill includes a minimum wage increase “which everybody agrees is going to kill, what, a million -- a million-plus jobs.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer & Dana Perino, 2/22/21]

Fox Business host Charles Payne: “We saw the [Congressional Budget Office] report. So maybe there's something for everyone there. But we do know there’s over a million jobs lost.” [Fox News, Your World with Neil Cavuto, 2/22/21]

Fox echoed the GOP memo’s criticism of including funding for Amtrak

RSC talking point: The American Rescue Plan “provides an additional $1.5 billion to Amtrak, which is already sitting on roughly $1 billion of unspent aid.” [Republican Study Committee, 2/16/21]

Fox anchor Bill Hemmer: “Dana and I were just going over some of the highlights: $50 billion for FEMA, $1.5 billion for Amtrak, $1.5 million for a bridge that connects New York and Canada. And on and on the list goes.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer & Dana Perino, 2/22/21]

Fox repeated the GOP memo’s suggestion that $350 billion in funding for state and local governments isn’t necessary

RSC talking point: Biden’s plan “provides a $350 billion bailout for state and local governments despite limited declines in overall revenue last year. Such funding effectively subsidizes unwarranted shutdowns that kills businesses and livelihoods.” [Republican Study Committee, 2/16/21]

Fox anchor Dana Perino: “A lot of expansion of government here, possible permanent expansion -- $350 billion for state and local governments. Again, maybe you need it, but as Maria Bartiromo just told us, the tax revenues are starting to come back. We’ve got to target the relief directly to the people who need it. And there are people who need it out there.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer & Dana Perino, 2/22/21]

Fox contributor Karl Rove: “We got state and local government aid $350 billion, $195 billion of it to states. But the states and local governments have actually turned out to be in better shape than we think.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer & Dana Perino, 2/23/21]

Fox echoed the GOP criticism of expanding nutrition assistance in the bill

RSC talking point: The American Rescue Plan's “liberal welfare wishlist” includes extending “15 percent increase in SNAP funding through the rest of FY 2021.” [Republican Study Committee, 2/16/21]

Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo: “There are many things in this bill that have nothing to do with COVID-19 relief. You are also talking about the $15 an hour minimum wage. You’ve got a nutrition program, $880 million, talking about a supplemental nutrition program.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer & Dana Perino, 2/22/21]

Fox repeated the GOP memo’s criticism of the funding for schools in the legislation

RSC talking point: The American Rescue Plan “provides $130 billion on top of the $110 billion already given to schools, even if they remain closed. Students, in particular at-risk and low-income students, face lifelong consequences of these closures.” [Republican Study Committee, 2/16/21]

Fox contributor Marc Thiessen: “We can debate what is COVID relief and what isn't. But, for example, the $129 billion for public schools. President Biden is saying we can't reopen the schools because they need all this money. We need to pass this bill so we can reopen the schools. Congress has already passed $119 billion, and according to CBO, the vast majority of that hasn't been spent. So the $129 billion for schools that he’s saying has to be passed if we want to reopen schools won’t -- according to the CBO -- won't be spent until 2022 to 2028. So, you know, 6 years after the pandemic is over. So this is not COVID relief. This is a big push for federal funding for schools that has nothing to do with the pandemic. The Democrats are using the pandemic as a pretext for a massive, massive government spending program that wouldn’t have public support otherwise.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer & Dana Perino, 2/22/21]

Fox followed the GOP memo in singling out support for pension plans as a “bailout,” labeling it a “controversial provision”

RSC talking point: Biden’s plan “would, effectively, implement the Democratic Butch Lewis taxpayer bailout of pensions plan.” [Republican Study Committee, 2/16/21]

[Fox News, America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer & Dana Perino, 2/22/21]

GOP memo attacked expansions to Medicaid and Obamacare, and Fox labeled them “controversial provisions” 

RSC talking point: The American Rescue Plan “incentivizes harmful Medicaid expansion by increasing newly expanded state’s base FMAP by five percentage points for two years. Not only does this hurt state budgets, it also brings our nation one step closer to a complete federal takeover of our health care sector.” [Republican Study Committee, 2/16/21]

RSC talking point: Biden’s plan “expands Medicaid eligibility, for five years, to incarcerated individuals 30 days prior to their release and to women for 12 months postpartum, an unrelated provision that should be considered on its own merits.” [Republican Study Committee, 2/16/21]

RSC talking point: The plan would “increase the size of Obamacare premium tax credits for existing beneficiaries.” [Republican Study Committee, 2/16/21]

[Fox News, America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer & Dana Perino, 2/22/21]

Fox labeled money for farmers facing discrimination as a “controversial provision,” echoing the GOP memo

RSC talking point: Biden’s plan “gives billions in subsidies and loan forgiveness worth 120% of debt to farmers and ranchers on the basis of race and ethnicity.” [Republican Study Committee, 2/16/21]

[Fox News, America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer & Dana Perino, 2/22/21]

Fox also singled out environmental grants in the bill, echoing an attack from the GOP memo

RSC talking point: The plan “provides $50 million in funding for EPA environmental justice grants, a thinly-veiled kickback to leftist environmental groups.” [Republican Study Committee, 2/16/21]

[Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, 2/22/21]