Covid-19 Relief Bill - What you need to know

[Jimmy Higgins]

Congress is on the verge of being on the verge of a compromise on a second Covid-19 relief bill. The breakthrough came when almost nothing changed in the bill. What does it include?

- Relief to small businesses, not including Fortune 500 companies this time, in the form of paycheck support to help employers pay the employees they laid off months ago
- $600 checks will be automatically deposited into account for people making $75,000 or less a year, sometime in a month or two
- Unemployment subsidy of $300 a week to help subsidize the grossly immorally low unemployment insurance many states have
- Relief to live stage acts of $15 billion which comes ridiculously late for an industry devastated by the pandemic
- $10 billion for 46 USACE flood protection projects, the thing hurt most by the pandemic because the virus apparently causes flooding
- $1.4 billion for the wall on the border of Mexico due to the virus seeping into southern Texas, Arizona, and California, causing the higher case numbers seen in those states relative to other US states.
- Almost no funding to states and cities due to economic revenue losses from shutdowns that were meant to save people's lives. This will not help the states and cities that have lost around an aggregate of $100 billion in revenue because Governors tried to save lives.

Sen. McConnell promises more aid is on the way, presumably just before the mid-terms.

 

[lpetrich]

When will the stimulus checks arrive?

Mnuchin: New stimulus checks will begin next week - POLITICO - "It took the IRS about 15 days to begin distributing checks after the last coronavirus stimulus measure was signed into law in March."

More details:
Congress agrees on $1 trillion in coronavirus relief, including bonus jobless benefits, $600 stimulus checks - oregonlive.com

op Capitol Hill negotiators sealed a deal Sunday on an almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package, finally delivering long-overdue help to businesses and individuals and providing money to deliver vaccines to a nation eager for them.

The agreement, announced by congressional leaders, would establish a temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefit and a $600 direct stimulus payment to most Americans, along with a new round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses and money for schools, health care providers and renters facing eviction.

...
House leaders informed lawmakers that they would vote on the legislation on Monday, and the Senate was likely to vote on Monday, too. Lawmakers were eager to leave Washington and close out a tumultuous year.

...
Still, delays in finalizing the agreement prompted the House to take up a one-day stopgap spending bill to prevent a government shutdown at midnight Sunday. The Senate was likely to pass the measure Sunday night as well.

The final agreement would be the largest spending measure yet. It combined COVID-19 relief with a $1.4 trillion government-wide funding plan and lots of other unrelated measures on taxes, health, infrastructure and education. The government-wide funding would keep the government open through September.

That one-day stopgap bill was signed by Trump last night. It followed an earlier two-day stopgap one.

 

[Worldtraveller]

Is the $75K cutoff based on household or individual income? My wife and mom might get a check, but not me. If it's household, then only mom is likely to get one.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

As a side note, the statements above are accurate... including my sarcasm.

Is the $75K cutoff based on household or individual income? My wife and mom might get a check, but not me. If it's household, then only mom is likely to get one.

Individual.

hat one-day stopgap bill was signed by Trump last night. It followed an earlier two-day stopgap one.

So the next Stop Gap will be 12 hours? The Covid-19 "Relief Too Late" Bill hit a snag with technical production issues. So unless they can rush this... another stop gap bill is likely needed for the budget.

And that brings up the hilarity of how this bill is getting rushed out there... after the Democrats had passed a bill in the House (a legitimate one at that) back in May! I read there is frustration in the Senate as the negotiations have been with just the leaders, and there will be no modifications possible. The no modifications is done to keep Senators from fucking things up, but it also keeps Senators from being able to actually govern as well.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So umm... the Covid-19 Relief/Apparently Everything Else for a Year Bill... clocks in at about 5,600 pages. Let me reemphasize that. 5,600 pages!!!

ACA was 2,700 pages. Personally, I tire of the stupid, this bill was blah blah x thousand pages long. But this is allegedly a relief bill. What in the heck is with the length. Allegedly the CARES Act was over 800 pages long. (I rushed, please feel free to correct those stats)

There will be one floor vote on funding for Commerce-Justice-Science, Financial Services, Defense and Homeland Security. Then there will be another floor vote to approve the rest of the spending package that will include funding for Covid-19 relief.

In case you have a month to read it, here it is.

 

[lpetrich]

That's both COVID-19 relief and a general spending bill. The general spending likely accounts for the bulk of it.

Stimulus checks, jobless aid and more in $900B coronavirus relief plan

Lawmakers aim to pass the package by Monday night, attached to a $1.4 trillion government funding proposal in one colossal bill. The badly needed aid comes as millions of Americans struggle to pay for food and housing, and face the potential loss of unemployment benefits and eviction protections in the coming days.

More than 5,600 pages.

• It would add a $300 per week federal unemployment insurance supplement through mid-March. The plan would also extend the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs, which expanded jobless benefits eligibility and allowed people to continue to receive payments after their state assistance ran out, through mid-March.
• The bill would put $284 billion into Paycheck Protection Program loans, which can be forgiven, and allow hard-hit small businesses to draw a second round of funding. It would include $20 billion in grants for companies in low-income areas and money set aside for loans from community-based and minority-owned lenders.
• The package would send direct payments of $600 to most Americans — down from the $1,200 passed in March as part of the CARES Act. Families will also get $600 per child. Individuals who earned up to $75,000 per year and couples filing jointly who made up to $150,000 in 2019 will receive the full sum. The payments will phase out until they stop for individuals and couples who made $99,000 and $198,000, respectively. Mixed-status households, in which a member of the family does not have a Social Security number, will also receive payments, retroactive to the CARES Act.
• The bill would extend the federal eviction moratorium through Jan. 31. It would put $25 billion into a rental assistance fund, which state and local governments would allocate to people to use for past due and future rent or utilities payments.
• The plan would put more than $8 billion into distribution of the two FDA-approved Covid-19 vaccines. It would also set aside $20 billion to make sure Americans get the shot for free. It would direct at least $20 billion to states for testing and contact tracing efforts.
• During the worst hunger crisis the U.S. has seen in years, the measure would put $13 billion into boosting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits by 15% and funding food banks, among other programs.
• The bill would put $45 billion into transportation, including at least $15 billion for airline payroll assistance, $14 billion for transit systems and $10 billion for state highways.
• The legislation would direct $82 billion into education, including more than $54 billion for public K-12 schools and nearly $23 billion for higher education. Schools require additional resources such as personal protective equipment to stay open safely.
• It puts $10 billion into child care assistance.
• The proposal would send $15 billion in aid to live event venues, movie theaters and cultural museums.
• The measure sets aside $7 billion to increase broadband access.
• It would phase out emergency Federal Reserve lending powers established by the CARES Act at the end of the year, and repurpose $429 billion in unused funds. A proposal backed by GOP Sen. Pat Toomey to prevent the Fed from setting up “similar” programs in the future temporarily tripped up the final push to craft a rescue package. The parties eventually settled on language that would not allow the Fed to set up identical lending provisions.

 

[lpetrich]

Lawmakers appeared poised to work late into Monday night to approve the legislation, which would not only send another round of relief but also keep the government running through Sept. 30.

“We are going to stay until we finish tonight,” McConnell told NBC News.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Congress is expected to vote on the second largest bill in US history *today* - $2.5 trillion - and as of about 1pm, members don’t even have the legislative text of it yet." / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "It’s not good enough to hear about what’s in the bill. Members of Congress need to see & read the bills we are expected to vote on.

I know it’s “controversial” & I get in trouble for sharing things like this, but the people of this country deserve to know. They deserve better." / Twitter

AOC (D-NY-14) is not alone.
Ocasio-Cortez, other lawmakers criticize lack of time to review mammoth bill | TheHill

Morgan Griffith on Twitter: "While waiting on the omnibus spending bill over the weekend, I asked if even just part of the text was available to read and was told no. I’ve gotten a bootleg back alley copy of the bill today to start reading." / Twitter
then
Morgan Griffith on Twitter: "Have the official version of the omnibus bill now. My bootleg copy was just over 3,000 pages. The official bill is 5,600." / Twitter
He's R-VA-09

Congressman Ken Buck on Twitter: "Looks like this is going to be another ”we have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it” kind of vote." / Twitter
He's R-CO-04

Noting
Garrett Haake on Twitter: "Folks! The bill is on the move! https://t.co/AYTztVZaYA" / Twitter

The printed-out bill on a cart - it filled two typical-sized boxes

”we have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it” - a reference to the Obamacare bill

 

[ZiprHead]

WTF, we give the equivalent of over $5,000 to every family in mother fucking Israel and all we can get is $600.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

WTF, we give the equivalent of over $5,000 to every family in mother fucking Israel and all we can get is $600.

That isn't for Israel's sake, but Military Industrial Complex Welfare for our military contractors.

They don't get a piece of this, so it is just $600.

 

[lpetrich]

The Hill on Twitter: "JUST IN: Congress to approve $1.375 billion for border wall in 2021 (links)" / Twitter
with response
Alford Corriette on Twitter: "@thehill They got money for steel bars, but none for the people (link)" / Twitter

Then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "GOP: “We can’t do $1200 checks. That’s irresponsible. Think of the deficit.”

Also GOP: “As part of a COVID deal we are allocating $1.4 billion to build a xenophobic campaign stunt wall that falls down in the wind even though we promised voters other countries would pay for it.”" / Twitter


The Hollywood Reporter on Twitter: "The COVID-19 stimulus bill would make illegal streaming a felony (links)" / Twitter
Though a defender of this provision claims that it's only directed at those who make a business out of such things.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "This is why Congress needs time to actually read this package before voting on it.

Members of Congress have not read this bill. It’s over 5000 pages, arrived at 2pm today, and we are told to expect a vote on it in 2 hours.

This isn’t governance. It’s hostage-taking." / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "And by the way, it’s not just members who need to see the bill ahead of time - YOU do.

The PUBLIC needs to see these bills w enough time to contact their rep to let them know how they feel.

Members are reeling right now bc they don’t have time to consult w/ their communities." / Twitter

 

[Trausti]

It’s a new experience, but I agree with crazy eyes Cortez. This bill is garbage grift. Trump should veto.

 

[lpetrich]

The Google News aggregator doesn't have any news stories on the vote on that mega-bill, and nobody here seems to have anything on it. But I have indeed discovered a vote on it.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib on Twitter: "I voted NO on the latest #COVID19 bill. People are demanding we take meaningful action in providing relief & protection during this public health emergency. This bill does not go nearly far enough in providing that help & support. My full statement here: (links)" / Twitter

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib Statement on COVID-19 Stimulus Vote | Representative Rashida Tlaib

Today, I voted against the latest COVID-19 relief legislation because it is woefully inadequate in addressing the needs of people. Republicans continue to do all they can do LO poison our society further with corporate greed, while abandoning the very people they are supposed to be working for. During this pandemic, I fought hard for $1.5 billion to prevent water shutoffs and to reconnect those who are living without water. I am pleased to see $638 million in water assistance included in the bill. Even with the inclusion of the fund, this bill still falls short in creating sustainable assistance. We will be back here in a month because the suffering will have gotten much worse because there has been a lack a of bold action and priorities to put people first. The people are demanding we take meaningful action in providing relief and protection during this public health emergency. While a vaccine is promising and needed news, it is our duty to provide a remedy tO the joblessness, poverty, and insecurity caused by this pandemic and the long-lasting inequalities in our society.

Rashida Tlaib on Twitter: "My duty is to show up & represent my district. The #13thDistrict was already struggling before COVID-19 because they have been told over & over again to wait for meaningful change. We can't wait any longer. I voted no on the "covid" bill. Our folks are dying & we waited enough." / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Google News finally came through, with House Passes Roughly $900 Billion COVID-19 Relief Bill : NPR

The House of Representatives approved more than $900 billion for coronavirus assistance on Monday, after months of partisan sniping over what elements should be in a relief measure that virtually all lawmakers on Capitol Hill argued was long overdue.

The Senate is expected to act swiftly to approve it and send to the president. In order to avoid a shutdown, since federal agencies run out of money at midnight, the package includes a 7-day stop-gap spending bill for the president to sign to allow time to process the combined relief and annual funding bills.

The complete document: COVID-19 Relief Bill - DocumentCloud

I looked at its table of contents, and it looks like a complete funding bill, and not just a C19-relief bill.

The article then went into some Congresspeople's grumbling over that bill, like AOC's and Mike Lee's.

 

[lpetrich]

Sen. Mike Lee, R-UT
Mike Lee on Twitter: "1/4 This is the spending bill under consideration in Congress today. ..." / Twitter

1/4 This is the spending bill under consideration in Congress today. I received it just moments ago, and will likely be asked to vote on it late tonight. It’s 5,593 pages long. I know there are some good things in it. I’m equally confident that there are bad things in it.

2/4 Here’s the really sad thing: we’re being told that there will be no opportunity to amend or improve it. As a result, nearly every member of Congress — House and Senate, Democrat or Republican — will have been excluded from the process of developing this bill,

3/4 which will cost American taxpayers trillions of dollars. This process, by which members of Congress are asked to defer blindly to legislation negotiated entirely in secret by four of their colleagues, must come to an end.

4/4 It won’t come to an end until no longer works for those empowered by it. That can happen, but only when most members of both houses and both political parties stop voting for bills they haven’t read—and, by design, cannot read until after it’s too late.

I agree. That's not a good way to legislate.

Back to the NPR article.

Leaders paired the relief bill with the annual $1.4 trillion spending bill, which included measures that had been negotiated over months by the House and Senate Appropriations panels. Members of those committees did note that agreement on many items like pay raises for members of the military, increased money for veterans and a deal on border security measures.

But the deal also represented the last train moving through the lame duck session of Congress. So riding along were some significant policy bills that had bipartisan support, such as legislation to address surprise medical billing, a measure creating Smithsonian museums for American Women's History and American Latinos, and a water projects bill.

Lots of unrelated stuff, it must be conceded.

Congress Rushes to Pass Huge Coronavirus Relief Bill - The New York Times

The House approved a $900 billion pandemic aid bill on Monday night, with the Senate poised to follow shortly after. The bill provides a $600 payment for most Americans.

...
President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who received a coronavirus vaccine on Monday with television cameras rolling, has insisted that this bill is only the beginning, and that more relief, especially to state and local governments, will be coming after his inauguration next month.

Lawmakers hustled on Monday to pass the bill, nearly 5,600 pages long, less than 24 hours after its completion and before virtually anyone had read it. At one point, aides struggled simply to put the measure online because of a corrupted computer file. The legislative text is likely to be one of the longest ever, and it became available only a few hours before the House approved it. Once the Senate passes the bill, it will go to President Trump for his signature.

Looks like he'll have a LOT of work to do.

 

[lpetrich]

Senate approves huge spending package, sending economic relief measure to Trump for enactment - The Washington Post


The WaPo has its own copy: Read the full text of the covid-19 economic relief bill - Washington Post

The speed and scope of the legislative rush startled some lawmakers as details from the massive bill emerged Monday. The proposal includes numerous provisions — such as the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act, legislation to rein in surprise medical billing, an extension of a tax credit for racehorse owners, and policies supporting Tibet — that appear to have nothing to do with the coronavirus pandemic or the national economic emergency.

The WaPo's copy: Read the full text of the covid-19 economic relief bill - Washington Post
I was thinking of copying its table of contents to here, but when I saw how long it was, I gave up.

 

[lpetrich]

The political winners and losers of the coronavirus relief negotiations in Congress - The Washington Post

Winners:

• Compromise
• The lame-duck session
• Joe Biden
• Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.)

Losers:

• Democrats — for now
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — for now
• State and local governments
• Fiscal conservatives

 

[Trausti]

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/GarrettHaake/status/1341092732924784641[/TWEET]

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

The political winners and losers of the coronavirus relief negotiations in Congress - The Washington Post

Winners:

• Compromise

What compromise? Again, it is scorched earth or what the Republicans want. Yes, the Republicans held back on companies being free of liability over their employees dying in a pandemic, but really... is that anything to be considered a fucking compromise?!


The winners? There are no winners! This bill is months late and more evidence that the GOP is incapable of leading.

 

[Jarhyn]

There's some bullshit about making certain streaming activities felonies.

 

[Trausti]

America is a place where the political class has contempt for the people it governs.