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Covid-19 Relief Bill - What you need to know

 
 
 
Washington Post Opinions on Twitter: "Why increasing the stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 is a bad idea, the Editorial Board writes. https://t.co/TIsAYFSwsf" / Twitter
then
Warren Gunnels on Twitter: "Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post, increased his wealth by $87 billion in just 9 months. He is denying his workers paid sick leave, hazard pay and the right to form a union. And now his paper thinks you should not get a $2,000 survival check. Yeah. Big surprise." / Twitter

Walker Bragman on Twitter: "Bernie Sanders, Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, Chris Van Hollen, and Jeff Merkley were the only Senate Dems who stood their ground against Mitch McConnell today to try to get a vote on $2000 checks. They were joined by 5 Republicans.

Every other Dem surrendered." / Twitter
then
Justin Jackson on Twitter: "There were 5 republicans who stood w/ Bernie to get Americans a 2k check. Your future VP @KamalaHarris, your senate minority leader @SenSchumer, and a dem presidential nominee @amyklobuchar decided funding the military to the tune of $740 billion was more important. Wake up y’all" / Twitter

  • D: Chris van Hollen MD, Ed Markey MA, Elizabeth Warren MA, Jeff Merkley OR, Ron Wyden OR
  • R: Mike Braun IN, Rand Paul KY, John Kennedy LA, Josh Hawley MO, Ted Cruz TX, Mike Lee UT
 
Graham pushes McConnell for separate vote on $2,000 checks - POLITICO - "The appeal from a strong Trump ally comes a day after the Senate majority leader rejected the proposed boost in stimulus payments."

There's a temporal landmark that is coming up for Congress. The end of the current session of Congress, the 116th Congress. According to the 20th Amendment, the 117th Congress will start on noon January 3, presumably local time. All their business will have to be wrapped up by then because Congress will reset itself on that day. Every pending bill or resolution will be canceled, so if the supporters of some bill/resolution want it, they will have to reintroduce it. But that often happens, and sometimes some reintroduced bill/resolution gets enacted.

So the Congresspeople will have to wrap everything up by the 3rd.
 
Trump returns to Washington on Thursday, ahead of schedule - CBS News
The Senate is expected to vote to override Mr. Trump's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act on Friday, after the House voted to do so on Monday. If successful, this will be the first — and last — time Congress overturned Mr. Trump's veto, the ninth of his presidency.

The NDAA, which has broad bipartisan support, is a critical defense spending bill which Congress votes on annually and which has been approved each year for several decades. Mr. Trump vetoed the bill on December 23, complaining about the inclusion of a provision to create a commission to rename military bases honoring Confederate officials, and arguing that the bill should include a section on repealing Section 230, a social media liability shield.

The Senate needs 60 votes on Friday to end debate and set up a final vote requiring two-thirds of senators to vote to override the veto. Since the NDAA passed in the Senate earlier this month with 84-13 votes, it is also likely to clear this hurdle.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has also rebuffed a push for the Senate to take up a bill increasing coronavirus relief checks to Americans from $600 to $2,000, a measure supported by Mr. Trump.
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Lindsey Graham on Twitter: "With all due respect to my Republican colleagues ..." / Twitter
With all due respect to my Republican colleagues, a $2k direct payment for individuals and families who are struggling is not socialism.

In my view it is necessary in the times in which we live.

The country is being overwhelmed by #COVID, hospitals are full, and business are hanging by a thread.

Direct payments may not be most efficient way to help people in need but, given the situation we face are extremely necessary.

Going from $600 to $2,000 doesn’t make you a socialist.

Mr. President, keep fighting for the American people who are suffering.

Insist on a standalone vote.
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "‘Fighting for people’s basic material dignity is socialist, and I will fight against it as much as possible, unless Trump makes me support it, then it’s not socialism, but I reserve the right to call whatever I don’t like socialist again when it suits my agenda’ - Lindsey Graham" / Twitter

"It's not socialism because I like it"
 
U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 116th Congress - 2nd Session
"On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Veto Message on H.R. 6395 )"
Is anyone else here annoyed at this Taste-of-Armageddon fake filibustering? (ST:TOS episode with a fake war)

  • D: Y 39, N 6, nv 1
  • R: Y 40, N 5, nv 7
  • I: Y 1, N 1
  • Total: Y 80, N 12, nv 8
  • No: 12 - Booker (D-NJ), Braun (R-IN), Hawley (R-MO), Kennedy (R-LA), Lee (R-UT), Markey (D-MA), Merkley (D-OR), Paul (R-KY), Sanders (I-VT), Van Hollen (D-MD), Warren (D-MA), Wyden (D-OR)
  • Not Voting: 8 - Cotton (R-AR), Cruz (R-TX), Gardner (R-CO), Graham (R-SC), Jones (D-AL), Loeffler (R-GA), Perdue (R-GA), Sasse (R-NE)
 
U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 116th Congress - 2nd Session
On Overriding the Veto (Shall the Bill H.R. 6395 Pass, the Objections of the President of the United States to the Contrary Notwithstanding? )

  • D: Y 40, N 5, nv 5
  • R: Y 40, N 7, nv 1
  • I: Y 1, N 1, nv
  • Total: Y 81, N 13, nv 6
  • No: 13 - Booker (D-NJ), Braun (R-IN), Cotton (R-AR), Cruz (R-TX), Hawley (R-MO), Kennedy (R-LA), Lee (R-UT), Markey (D-MA), Merkley (D-OR), Paul (R-KY), Sanders (I-VT), Warren (D-MA), Wyden (D-OR)
  • Not Voting: 6 - Gardner (R-CO), Graham (R-SC), Jones (D-AL), Loeffler (R-GA), Perdue (R-GA), Sasse (R-NE)
 
McConnell Puts $2,000 Checks In New Measure Democrats Oppose : NPR
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., says a measure that would increase direct payments to many Americans has "no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate."

McConnell is moving ahead with a plan to avoid a public rift within the GOP over stimulus payments demanded by President Trump ahead of a critical runoff election in Georgia.

Instead of putting the $2,000 relief payments for an up-or-down vote on their own, McConnell tied the checks to Trump's demands to investigate alleged voter fraud and to repeal a decades-old law that would open the door for lawsuits against social media companies for the content they choose to leave up or take down.
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Senate votes to override Trump's veto on defense bill - CNNPolitics
Trump had threatened to veto the defense bill, which includes pay raises for America's soldiers and modernizations for equipment, because it doesn't include a repeal of Section 230, a law that shields internet companies from being liable for what is posted on their websites by them or third parties.

The President responded on Twitter hours after the first veto override of his presidency, saying, "Our Republican Senate just missed the opportunity to get rid of Section 230, which gives unlimited power to Big Tech companies. Pathetic!!!" The White House has not otherwise responded to CNN's request for comment on the veto override.
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Even in losing the election, he remains a big baby. It's clear that that big loss hasn't made him anywhere sober.
 
Rebecca Grant: Congressional override of Trump’s defense bill veto was inevitable. So why did he veto? | Fox News
The NDAA enacted by Congress over Trump’s veto stops the president from withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. Wait, Congress is forcing the military to stay overseas? Strange but true.
...
The NDAA authorizes $2 million to set up a commission to study the issue of renaming military bases named after Confederate leaders.
...
Trump’s primary reason for vetoing the NDAA seems to be his determination to punish social media companies, which he argues have unfairly censored conservatives and been supportive of Democrats.
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The House's last day of the 116th Congress was yesterday, as I write this: 2020 Dec 31. Today, 2021 Jan 1, is apparently the Senate's last day of the 116th Congress.

Both the House and the Senate will meet on Jan 3 to start the 117th Congress with the swearing in of the new Reps and Senators.

That's also Bill-Reset Day, so bumping up payments to $2,000 will have to be reintroduced.
 
 
Elizabeth Warren on Twitter: "I carefully read President-elect Biden’s America Rescue Plan. It’s full of many things I’ve been fighting for: Hazard pay. Rent and utility assistance. An eviction moratorium. Extended and expanded unemployment. Paid leave. A $15 minimum wage. An OSHA ETS. And lots, lots more." / Twitter
then
Elizabeth Warren on Twitter: "I’ll work with President-elect Biden to strengthen and pass this package immediately. But let’s be clear: if the Republicans want to drag their feet while working families struggle, the Democratic majority should use every legislative tool available to pass it." / Twitter

Then
Welcome2Absurdia on Twitter: "@SenWarren The Democratic Party should also use PR tools to get the public on board. Don’t let the GOP control the messaging, or the American people will continue to suffer." / Twitter
then
Welcome2Absurdia on Twitter: "@SenWarren Years ago I read something (I think by Prof George Lakoff) that people that go into Dem politics often study government or public policy in college, whereas people that go into Repub politics often study marketing. Whether true or not, it’s certainly believable." / Twitter
 
Andrew Solender on Twitter: "GOP Sen. Pat Toomey says Biden's $1.9 trillion relief plan would be a "colossal waste and economically harmful," singling out the $1,400 stimulus checks as "senseless." "It was a bad idea two weeks ago and it’s a bad idea now." (link)" / Twitter
then
Andrew Solender on Twitter: "Sen. Rick Scott says there are "some good things" in Biden's plan like small business and individual relief and funding for vaccines and testing.

However, he slams state & local funding, minimum wage increase as "liberal priorities that have nothing to do with the coronavirus." (link)" / Twitter

Then Rep. Mondaire Jones
Mondaire Jones on Twitter: "These people have no idea what it’s like to struggle in this broken economy.

Of course the American people need more survival checks. They need them monthly." / Twitter
 
Romney: Disingenuous to criticize Democrats after big spending under Trump | TheHill

Good that he has some honesty.
“When we had a Republican president and House and Senate, we kept on spending massively and adding almost a trillion dollars a year to the national debt. Now we say this is outrageous adding so much to the debt? They say we did the same thing when we were in charge. It does show that you have to be consistent in your arguments,” Romney said on the “Utah Politics” podcast.

The remarks come as the GOP raises alarm over a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package being pushed by President Biden. Many Republicans, including Romney, say that price tag is too high, noting that Congress allocated $900 billion to tackle the pandemic late last year.
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Biden commits to $1,400 checks, but open to eligibility limits | TheHill
resident Biden said during a call with House Democrats on Wednesday that he is committed to boosting stimulus checks to $2,000 by giving most Americans another $1,400 in direct payments in a new round of coronavirus relief.

However, Biden did crack the door open to tightening income restrictions on which Americans are eligible to receive the checks. Under the relief package passed by Congress late last year, individuals making less than $75,000 and couples making less than $150,000 received the full $600 payment.

“We can’t walk away from an additional $1,400 in direct checks that we proposed because the people need them,” Biden told Democrats, according to a source on the call.

...
t addition to the bigger stimulus checks, Biden’s proposal includes $400 billion for more vaccines, testing and other measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic and to help reopen schools; $350 billion for cities, states and tribal governments; billions more for small businesses, rental assistance and increasing unemployment insurance; and raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

House and Senate Democrats are expected to pass a budget resolution this week that would give them the ability later this month to pass a massive COVID-19 package through the Senate with just a simple majority. That will be crucial given the Senate’s 50-50 split.
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That's called reconciliation, and it is a way of getting around the Senate filibuster.
 
lpetrich said:
Kamala Harris uses casting vote to pass Covid relief budget - YouTube
Kamala Harris used her casting vote to pass a Covid relief budget resolution that allows for the passage of Joe Biden’s $1.9tn (£1.4tn) Covid-19 relief package in the coming weeks without Republican support.
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The Senate had voted 50-50, and VP KH broke that tie.

Now they have to work on the COVID-aid bill itself.
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That whole escapade was bullshit on the Republicans part. They asked for 44 amendments, many were accepted with Dem support. It took them 'til 5:30 in the morning to get through all of them and still not one Republican voted for the resolution.
 
 
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "We cannot cut off relief at $50k. ..." / Twitter
We cannot cut off relief at $50k. It is shockingly out of touch to assert that $50k is “too wealthy” to receive relief.

Millions are on the brink of eviction. Give too little and they’re devastated. Give “too much” and a single mom might save for a rainy day. This isn’t hard.

It should be $2000 to begin w/ anyway. Brutally means-testing a $1400 round is going to hurt so many people. THAT is the risk we can’t afford.

Income thresholds already work in reverse & lag behind reality. Conservative Dems can ask to tax $ back later if they’re so concerned.

All Dems need for the slam dunk is to do what people elected us to do: help as many people as possible.

It’s not hard. Let’s not screw it up with austerity nonsense that squeezes the working class yet never makes a peep when tax cuts for yachts and private jets are proposed.
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Kanye is Wrong: Welfare Didn’t Take Fathers Out of the Home, Racist Southern Conservatives Did - CounterPunch.org - The "no man in the house" rule was essentially means testing taken to a grotesque extreme.
 
Working Families Party 🐺 on Twitter: "Voters elected Democrats to deliver more relief, not less." / Twitter
noting
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "If conservative Senate Dems ..." / Twitter
If conservative Senate Dems institute a lower income threshold in the next round of checks, that could potentially mean the first round of checks under Trump help more people than the first round under Biden.

Do we want to do that? No? Then let’s stop playing & just help people.

We should preserve what was there and not peg it to outdated 2019 income. People need help!
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Joe Neguse on Twitter: "Just to be clear, “targeting” stimulus checks means denying them to some working families who would otherwise receive them." / Twitter
 
Rep. Pramila Jayapal on Twitter: "We promised people that if we won the Senate, we would send out $2,000 survival checks. ..." / Twitter
We promised people that if we won the Senate, we would send out $2,000 survival checks. They delivered us to victory—and now we MUST deliver.

“Targeting” checks to a smaller group fails to do that. People need help like never before, and we must put money in their pockets.

“Targeting” checks isn’t just bad for people, it’s bad policy too! It’s not humane, it's not smart, it’s not effective, and it’s not even fiscally responsible. Not to mention that it doesn't meet the scale of this crisis.

Help me spread the word about 4 obvious reasons why:

(1) The survival checks often use 2019 tax data to measure someone’s income.

Millions lost their jobs in 2020 due to COVID—that’s the whole point of this relief!—and therefore their income from 1 or 2 years ago is no longer accurate. They need help now and we must provide it.

Even if someone isn’t one of the nearly 1 million additional people losing their job EVERY single week, they likely lost hours and therefore had their overall income significantly reduced.

By “targeting,” we cut out people who are desperately in need of help.

(2) The data from people who filed for unemployment shows that more than 20% of those earning between $50k and $70k were still food insecure.

That's up 16% from 2019—and it's why food banks have such long lines. We need to put money in their pockets so they can feed their family.

(3) Only 24% of those who lost work have received unemployment.

Why? Because many don’t qualify. Who? Parents who stayed home for childcare. People who didn’t feel safe going to work. Young adults who didn’t have a job.

Survival checks are their only lifeline. Don't take it away.

(4) There are massive racial and ethnic disparities in all of this. “Targeting” further increases those disparities — and will further increase income inequality.

Democrats should NOT be the party that cuts survival checks. People need money in their pockets and we must be the party that delivers it.

If we're really the party that's #ForThePeople, then let's get it together and send these survival checks at the level we promised—NO LESS.
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I like this. There are some other reasons to avoid complicated targeting. Fewer people will fall through the cracks in the system, and more people receiving the aid results in a larger constituency for it. "Keep your government hands off my Medicare!" is amusing, and it shows that having a large constituency can be good for support, even if that support is sometimes absurd.
 
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