Covid-19 Relief Bill - What you need to know

[lpetrich]

Bernie Sanders on Twitter: "Unbelievable. There are some Dems who want to lower the income eligibility for direct payments from $75,000 to $50,000 for individuals, and $150,000 to $100,000 for couples. In other words, working class people who got checks from Trump would not get them from Biden. Brilliant!" / Twitter
Interesting point. Sen. Manchin is making Trump look good for holding out for that.

Then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "It would be outrageous if we ran on giving more relief and ended up doing the opposite.

It’s sad that this is even an argument in the Dem party. COVID relief is disaster relief, & it’s urgent.

Our first act out of the gate should be big, bold, and strong. Not weaker & smaller." / Twitter
Yes, avoid Obama's excessive caution. Or was it cowardice?

and
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "In conclusion, $50k is wack and we shouldn’t do wack things." / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The pandemic hit in 2020. We should not use 2019 income to determine relief eligibility." / Twitter
Because may people lost their jobs.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Some of the same folks who said “defunding huge PD budgets & shifting $ to schools is too hard to explain” are now saying “Well $1400 is actually $2k if you recall the $600 from a diff president, carry the 1- yes I know ads showed $2k checks, but thresholds-” Just help people!" / Twitter


Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Some who discount our proposals by saying “reps from urban & suburban areas don’t get other places” don’t seem to apply that consideration themselves. ..." / Twitter

Some who discount our proposals by saying “reps from urban & suburban areas don’t get other places” don’t seem to apply that consideration themselves.

A $50k threshold is totally disconnected from the reality of tens of millions of people.

So let’s talk Queens & West Virginia:

The borough of Queens has a higher population than the entire state of West Virginia. We should do what helps both instead of one.

If we cut relief checks to account for higher cost of living, BOTH Queens & West Virginia get help. WV actually comes out ahead due to lower COL.

If you use West Virginia cost of living #s to bring down relief for everyone, millions are left in the cold. That’s what $50k does.

Cutting checks to account for Queens/higher COL overall is a win-win. Lower COL get more bang for their buck, higher COL get their needs met.

 

[Rhea]

All of this is why I would like to see all of the relief tied to unemployment, NOT just blanket relief for everyone. We can afford to give more to those in need if we don’t also send checks to those not in need.

I disagree with Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez in just sending more money to all people. We don’t all need it. People who make $75K/year and still have their jobs - don’t need it. People who made $80k/year but lost their job do need it.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

All of this is why I would like to see all of the relief tied to unemployment, NOT just blanket relief for everyone. We can afford to give more to those in need if we don’t also send checks to those not in need.

I disagree with Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez in just sending more money to all people. We don’t all need it. People who make $75K/year and still have their jobs - don’t need it. People who made $80k/year but lost their job do need it.

Two practical reasons:

1) The unemployment systems are fucked. Sending it to everyone actually gets it out there.

2) There are those whose incomes have been severely hammered but they don't get unemployment because they're still making more than the unemployment amount.

Perhaps what we should do is send it to everyone making under say $100k on their last tax return, but you have to pay it back come tax time if your return is at least 75% of your 2019 return.

 

[crazyfingers]

All of this is why I would like to see all of the relief tied to unemployment, NOT just blanket relief for everyone. We can afford to give more to those in need if we don’t also send checks to those not in need.

I disagree with Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez in just sending more money to all people. We don’t all need it. People who make $75K/year and still have their jobs - don’t need it. People who made $80k/year but lost their job do need it.

There is no way i need this.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

All of this is why I would like to see all of the relief tied to unemployment, NOT just blanket relief for everyone. We can afford to give more to those in need if we don’t also send checks to those not in need.

I disagree with Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez in just sending more money to all people. We don’t all need it. People who make $75K/year and still have their jobs - don’t need it. People who made $80k/year but lost their job do need it.

It works a couple ways. Our household lost income this year, but we didn't apply for the relief, because it was part-time, but we definitely lost income and the relief checks cover some of that cost. But none of that loss caused drastic needs for us.

I think the problem we have is that we had the first bill and they threw money everywhere. There was no time to address necessity. But then the GOP in Congress just sat on it for 8 months. So instead of crafting a bill that targeted relief, they did nothing, until we were at the point of protections disappearing. Which made the second bill needlessly blunt. And we are suffering from this lack of GOP governance.

So we are now in a position to actually be more surgical with support, with this on the heels of the last relief bill. We have 10 million fewer jobs right now. How do you cover that? I don't know. The way to address it was back in March/April, not nearly 12 months later.

 

[lpetrich]

The Recount on Twitter: "Rep. @AOC and Sen. Chuck Schumer announce funeral benefits for low-income New Yorkers who have died from COVID.

"Families also are having to pay for the storage of the bodies of their own loved ones. This is wrong." (vid link)" / Twitter
then
The Recount on Twitter: "Rep. @AOC says “after the last four years of targeting immigrant families,” immigrants should “not have fear” under a Biden administration and Democratic House and Senate. (vid link)" / Twitter

Noted by
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "It’s official. If you’ve lost a loved one due to COVID-19, you will soon be able to get reimbursed up to $7,000 for the expenses of laying a loved one to rest.

Proud and thankful to have gotten this done with @SenSchumer, @voceslatinasQNY, @Elmcor, & @HispanicFed." / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "FEMA will be operating & is authorized for $2 billion as of now. Program is retroactive & will reimburse back to January 2020.

Start collecting docs now. FEMA will need expense documentation (receipts/invoices), death certificate, & docs for caller ID. Includes the undocumented." / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "(Sorry for the previous typo. Cold fingers! )" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "How about we “means test” corporate tax breaks" / Twitter
AOC's response to means testing.

Kanye is Wrong: Welfare Didn’t Take Fathers Out of the Home, Racist Southern Conservatives Did - CounterPunch.org - conservatives have long maintained that welfare programs kick fathers out of families. But it was the same sort of people who wanted the "no man in the house" rule in the first place, so as not to support men who could be working. So it's a case of means testing taken to a rather grotesque extreme.


Democratic lawmakers splinter over criteria for $1,400 stimulus payments as Biden relief bill advances - The Washington Post
then
Jeff Stein on Twitter: ".@RepJayapal (D-Wash.) says she is in "non-stop" conversations w/ White House officials trying to prevent stimulus check thresholds from being lowered to $50K

“The idea we should cave to one Democrat in the Senate does not make any sense to me," she says (link)" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The debate Democrats should be having is how much *more* we should be helping people this year, not how much less." / Twitter


Pramila Jayapal on Twitter: "Yesterday, the Progressive Caucus secured these proposals in the House relief bill:

$15 minimum wage
NO new income thresholds for survival checks

Now, Democrats must fight to keep them in the Senate bill and deliver big, bold relief to the American people. (vid link)" / Twitter

 

[TV and credit cards]

Dave Ramsey is against stimulus checks because ‘if $600 or $1,400 changes your life, you were pretty much screwed already’

“You have a career problem. You have a debt problem. You have a relationship problem. You have a mental-health problem,” he continued. “Something else is going on if $600 changes your life.”

Career problem? Perhaps you're doing the best you can and 30-35k a year is as good as it gets for you. You're not saving jackshit with this paycheck. There is no emergency fund because everything you own has to be used until it breaks. Your vehicle is a beater that constantly sucks money out of you. Just living is one small emergency after another. You supplement your income with one or two near maxed out credit cards out of necessity. When you get your tax return, you pay them down and start all over again.

But don't forget to admonish them when they treat themselves to a Starbucks. Because that's what you do when there is no hope of ever vacationing anywhere. You find little inexpensive ways to smile from time to time.

He hastened to say that he was “not talking down to folks” — as he’s been bankrupt himself and he helps people who are hurting financially every day.

I can imagine what your bankruptcy was like. Who started you out in life and who was there as a backstop.

 

[Harry Bosch]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "How about we “means test” corporate tax breaks" / Twitter
AOC's response to means testing.

Kanye is Wrong: Welfare Didn’t Take Fathers Out of the Home, Racist Southern Conservatives Did - CounterPunch.org - conservatives have long maintained that welfare programs kick fathers out of families. But it was the same sort of people who wanted the "no man in the house" rule in the first place, so as not to support men who could be working. So it's a case of means testing taken to a rather grotesque extreme.


Democratic lawmakers splinter over criteria for $1,400 stimulus payments as Biden relief bill advances - The Washington Post
then
Jeff Stein on Twitter: ".@RepJayapal (D-Wash.) says she is in "non-stop" conversations w/ White House officials trying to prevent stimulus check thresholds from being lowered to $50K

“The idea we should cave to one Democrat in the Senate does not make any sense to me," she says (link)" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The debate Democrats should be having is how much *more* we should be helping people this year, not how much less." / Twitter


Pramila Jayapal on Twitter: "Yesterday, the Progressive Caucus secured these proposals in the House relief bill:

$15 minimum wage
NO new income thresholds for survival checks

Now, Democrats must fight to keep them in the Senate bill and deliver big, bold relief to the American people. (vid link)" / Twitter

In a sense, companies are being "means-tested". For example, eligibility for PPP round 2 includes among other things that companies demonstrate a 25% drop in revenue in any quarter in 2020 vs. same quarter in 2019. My company barely missed this criteria. We had a 19% drop in Q2 2020. Bummer. But that's okay, finished the year strong.

 

[lpetrich]

Congresswoman Marie Newman on Twitter: "Millions of Americans are out of work, facing food insecurity and behind on payments. And yet, the @GOP is pleading that we should spend LESS to help FEWER people.

Read my op-ed on why the $1.9 trillion relief plan must be the floor, not the ceiling (link)" / Twitter
Op-ed: $1.9 trillion for a COVID-19 relief package should be the minimum — not the max - Chicago Tribune

In appeasing Republican concerns of spending too much money on a single relief package, Obama’s final $800 billion package was only two-thirds of the $1.2 trillion stimulus proposal originally recommended by the administration economists. Even after cuts were made, Republicans decried it as too much. In reality, it was not enough.

I think that Obama's appeasement of the Republicans made his Presidency much less effective than it could have been -- though he held on for a second term, he lost Congress because of it and also a lot of state legislature seats - some 1000 in total, out of nearly 8000.

As President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package inches closer to passing Congress, Democrats cannot afford to make the same mistakes we made over a decade ago. And we are in a much worse situation than in 2009.

Last Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the real unemployment rate today is close to 10%. “The pandemic has led to the largest 12-month decline in labor force participation since at least 1948,” stated the Republican-appointed chairman.

And yet, like they did a decade ago, Republicans in Congress today are preaching from their faux gospel of fiscal conservatism.

...
If a $1.9 trillion tax cut for the ultrawealthy was justifiable four years ago, surely a $1.9 trillion rescue plan during a pandemic is appropriate today. But where was that sense of fiscal restraint when Republicans passed a massive tax cut in 2017? After all, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected this needless tax cut would cost $1.9 trillion over 10 years.

I like this. It's good that she recognizes that Obama-era mistakes should not be repeated.

 

[Harry Bosch]

Congresswoman Marie Newman on Twitter: "Millions of Americans are out of work, facing food insecurity and behind on payments. And yet, the @GOP is pleading that we should spend LESS to help FEWER people.

Read my op-ed on why the $1.9 trillion relief plan must be the floor, not the ceiling ?????? (link)" / Twitter
Op-ed: $1.9 trillion for a COVID-19 relief package should be the minimum — not the max - Chicago Tribune

In appeasing Republican concerns of spending too much money on a single relief package, Obama’s final $800 billion package was only two-thirds of the $1.2 trillion stimulus proposal originally recommended by the administration economists. Even after cuts were made, Republicans decried it as too much. In reality, it was not enough.

I think that Obama's appeasement of the Republicans made his Presidency much less effective than it could have been -- though he held on for a second term, he lost Congress because of it and also a lot of state legislature seats - some 1000 in total, out of nearly 8000.

As President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package inches closer to passing Congress, Democrats cannot afford to make the same mistakes we made over a decade ago. And we are in a much worse situation than in 2009.

Last Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the real unemployment rate today is close to 10%. “The pandemic has led to the largest 12-month decline in labor force participation since at least 1948,” stated the Republican-appointed chairman.

And yet, like they did a decade ago, Republicans in Congress today are preaching from their faux gospel of fiscal conservatism.

...
If a $1.9 trillion tax cut for the ultrawealthy was justifiable four years ago, surely a $1.9 trillion rescue plan during a pandemic is appropriate today. But where was that sense of fiscal restraint when Republicans passed a massive tax cut in 2017? After all, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected this needless tax cut would cost $1.9 trillion over 10 years.

I like this. It's good that she recognizes that Obama-era mistakes should not be repeated.

How did Obama appease the republicans? I don't think that it's fair to blame Obama for the democratic losses in the midterms. Every president loses seats after their win. For some reason, every time democratic presidents try to increase medical care coverage they get killed two years later (happened to Clinton also). Below is a good article discussing this:

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/10/14211994/obama-democrats-downballot

 

[lpetrich]

How Biden's massive Covid relief bill was put on a glide path to passage - CNNPolitics

A little more than one month since President Joe Biden entered office, his cornerstone legislative priority -- a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package -- is on the path to passage by the deadline his administration set, largely mirroring the key elements he originally proposed.

While Biden's hope for GOP support on Capitol Hill has all but disappeared in the last several weeks, his enthusiasm for the proposal -- and his view that despite its high price tag it will only serve to bolster Democrats as they remain unified -- has hardly waned.

When he was asked about it in a recent town hall,

"I learned based on the polling data that they want everything that's in the plan," Biden said. "Not a joke. Everything that's in the plan."

...
It was equal parts an inside- and outside-the-Beltway effort by the White House, aided by congressional Democrats involved early, and often, on both the substance and politics of the proposal. Supporters were boosted by a continuous run of positive public polling -- which White House officials and congressional leaders made a point of regularly putting in front of their members -- all as they sought to capitalize on state and district-level officials and advocacy groups they knew would hold sway on Capitol Hill.

The effort to sell the proposal started early in the process with Biden's transition team regularly consulting with top Democratic lawmakers as they constructed their plan. Key elements, like the emergency expansion of the Child Tax Credit -- a potentially transformative plank of the plan -- came directly from legislation drafted by Democrats that held wide-ranging support in their congressional ranks. There was a recognition, multiple people directly involved said, that the cascading crises meant now was the moment to go big.

Republicans grumbled that the bill was to be sent to the Senate floor, bypassing the usual committees.

But in addition to an inside effort with Congressmembers, the Biden Admin was also doing an outside effort.

There were 70 local television appearances by senior administration officials and surrogates during a three-week period. An Oval Office meeting between Biden and a bipartisan group of governors and mayors garnered major local coverage.

The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs held a series of briefings with hundreds of state, local and tribal officials.

All of that has contributed to a firm sense inside the White House that the politics are firmly in their favor, several aides made clear. And not just that supporters would be rewarded politically, but that those who opposed it -- congressional Republicans -- would take a hit.

 

[lpetrich]

Justin Baragona on Twitter: "Newt Gingrich on Sen. Ed Markey saying racial justice must be a top priority in disbursing covid vaccines.

"This is just part of anti-white racism... what Markey was saying would guarantee a lot more people would die in the name of, essentially, an ideology that is anti-white." (vid link)" / Twitter

then

Ed Markey on Twitter: "It is not "anti-white racism" to make sure that Black and Brown communities, which have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, are vaccinated and cared for. @NewtGingrich is wrong. We need racial justice in America and it must be our top priority in vaccine distribution." / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Coronavirus Relief: House Approves $1.9 Trillion Package : NPR

The proposal would provide a new round of financial support for workers, families and businesses, including direct payments of up to $1,400 for eligible individuals and couples; an expansion and extension of supplemental unemployment benefits; and an increase to the child tax credit.

Also in the bill is $25 billion for emergency rental assistance and an expanded tax credit for low-income workers without children.

Great. It's good that they are going big, even if not as big as one might hope, like $2000 instead of $1400.

But there is some difficulty.
Senate Can't Vote On $15 Minimum Wage, Parliamentarian Rules : NPR

The Senate parliamentarian ruled that a plan to gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 does not fit the complicated rules that govern budget bills in the Senate. House Democrats included the measure in a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill that is expected to be the first major legislative act for President Biden.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he is disappointed in the decision and pledged to pursue other legislation to increase the minimum wage.

Both houses have a parliamentarian, and that person's job is to assist the members of each house in their interpretations of the house's rules and procedures.

That decision got a lot of criticism from progressives.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Preserving the filibuster is not worth letting millions of people in this country go hungry, sleep in their cars, or struggle to afford baby formula." / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The Senate parliamentarian should be overruled. We must pass a $15 minimum wage." / Twitter
noting Twitter thread
Michael McAuliff on Twitter: "AOC re Manchin, parliamentarian: ..." / Twitter

AOC re Manchin, parliamentarian: "The fact that we have 2 people in this entire country.. that are holding back a complete transformation in working people's lives, the same people who have held our country together thruout this pandemic is wrong."

via pooler @lindsaywise

AOC: "I know that going back to my family's community in the Bronx and in Queens, we can't tell them that this didn't get done because of an unelected parliamentarian."

AOC also notes it's literally a debatable matter of opinion whether a minimum wage can pass by reconciliation: "You have the House parliamentarian that has ruled it in order, and the Senate parliamentarian that has been out of step with virtually every other aspect of this party"

AOC: "Millions and millions more people voted for Democrats in the Senate than Republicans, and to say.. that their lives won't change, I don't think that that's something that we can really accept as a party."

AOC: "Really our options right now, at least our immediate options on this specific issue, is to do something about this parliamentary obstacle or abolish the filibuster."

 

[lpetrich]

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The Biden Administration must use its legal authority to overrule the parliamentarian & allow a vote on raising the minimum wage.

We can't go home and tell our constituents that the minimum wage will remain a poverty wage because of the decision of an unelected parliamentarian." / Twitter
noting
Sahil Kapur on Twitter: ".@RoKhanna + 22 House Dems call on White House to ignore the parliamentarian and allow a $15 wage in the Covid bill.

A Senate expert tells me @VP has the power do this—and it'd take 60 votes to overrule her—but that it's never been done on Byrd rule.

WH has rejected this call. (link)" / Twitter
RELEASE: PROGRESSIVES URGE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO OVERRULE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN | Congressman Ro Khanna
Also from
Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman, Mondaire Jones, Ilhan Omar, Mark Pocan, Bennie G. Thompson, Earl Blumenauer, Alan Lowenthal, Marie Newman, Veronica Escobar, Raúl Grijalva, Gerald E. Connolly, Mark DeSaulnier, Betty McCollum, Andy Levin, Pramila Jayapal, Jesús G. “Chuy” García, Barbara Lee, Debbie Dingell, Ritchie Torres, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Also addressed to
Ronald Klain, Chief of Staff to the President of the United States
Tina Flournoy, Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States

 

[lpetrich]

Rep. Ilhan Omar advocates a more drastic solution.

Ilhan Omar on Twitter: "Abolish the filibuster.

Replace the parliamentarian.

What’s a Democratic majority if we can’t pass our priority bills? This is unacceptable." / Twitter

The bill itself:
H.R.1319 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

This bill provides additional relief to address the continued impact of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses.

Specifically, the bill provides funding for

• agriculture and nutrition programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program);
• schools and institutions of higher education;
• child care and programs for older Americans and their families;
• COVID-19 vaccinations, testing, treatment, and prevention;
• mental health and substance-use disorder services;
• emergency rental assistance, homeowner assistance, and other housing programs;
• payments to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments for economic relief;
• multiemployer pension plans;
• small business assistance, including specific programs for restaurants and live venues; and
• programs for health care workers, transportation workers, federal employees, veterans, and other targeted populations.

The bill also includes provisions that

• raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025;
• extend unemployment benefits and related services;
• provide a maximum recovery rebate of $1,400 per eligible individual;
• expand and otherwise modify certain tax credits, including the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit;
• provide premium assistance for certain health insurance coverage; and
• require coverage, without cost-sharing, of COVID-19 vaccines and treatment under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

 

[lpetrich]

Roll Call 49 | Bill Number: H. R. 1319 at clerk.house.gov

Of the 221 Democrats, 219 voted yes, 2 voted no
Of the 211 Republicans, 210 voted no, 1 did not vote

The voting-no Dems were Jared Golden of ME and Kurt Schrader of OR.
The non-voting Rep was Mike Bost of IL.


After vote against aid package, Golden calls for more bipartisanship | TheHill

Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) issued a plea for more bipartisanship in Congress hours after he voted against President Biden’s coronavirus relief package Saturday morning, becoming one of just two House Democrats to buck his party on the bill.

In a nearly 30-minute phone interview with The Hill, Golden said he disagreed with Democratic leaders’ efforts to muscle the $1.9 trillion package through Congress without Republican support and that he believes a more bipartisan approach would have produced a better bill.

“I like to often remind myself that just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should. It doesn't mean that it's in the best interest of the country,” Golden said of the decision to push the bill without Republican support in the House.

Do his Republican colleagues appreciate all the tears that he has cried for them? Seriously. This seems like an Obama holdover, trying to please the Republicans when the Republicans have no desire to cooperate.

 

[ZiprHead]

Has he even seen republicans lately?

 

[lpetrich]

Jeff Stein on Twitter: "“PROGRESSIVES URGE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO OVERRULE SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN”

Letter led by @RoKhanna — signed by AOC, Pocan, Jayapal, 18 other House Dems

“If we don’t overrule the Senate parliamentarian, we are condoning poverty wages for millions” (link)" / Twitter

Justice Democrats on Twitter: "“Any person who thinks that a $15 minimum wage is the ‘crazy socialist agenda’ is living in a dystopian capitalist nightmare.” -@AOC (link)" / Twitter
From a recent interview by Mehdi Hasan.

Sahil Kapur on Twitter: ".@SenWarren supports the calls from House progressives to evade the parliamentarian to raise the minimum wage. “This is a short-term solution. But the real solution is to get rid of the filibuster,” she says." / Twitter

AOC Says Only 'Two Options' to Pass $15 Minimum Wage: Override Parliamentarian or End Filibuster

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat from New York, argued that Democrats now have "two options" if they want to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour—either disregard the Senate parliamentarian's ruling or end the legislative filibuster.

...
"I do believe we should override the parliamentarian. I think that this is a matter of course and that constituents and people across this country put Democrats in power to, among many other things, establish a $15 minimum wage. We have a responsibility to do that," she said.

Ocasio-Cortez said that Democrats should not view the parliamentarian's decision as an obstacle. "Our two options are realistically this: override the parliamentarian or eliminate the filibuster. Those are the only two paths that we have in order to create substantive change in the United States, and that is what people across the country want," the congresswoman said.

Patriotic Millionaires on Twitter: ".@AOC is right! We have two options in the continued #FightFor15

1. Override the Parliamentarian's advice & move forward with the $15 minimum wage in the COVID package.

2. Eradicated the deeply flawed filibuster.

Which is it going to be, Democrats? (link)" / Twitter