Trump Schumer and Pelosi

stumbler · Apr 29, 2020

I told you so.

McConnell scrambles to walk back his threat to let states go bankrupt — after bipartisan backlash

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walked back his threat to let states that request federal assistance go bankrupt rather than extend additional aid, which would require further deficit spending.

This article originally appeared at Salon.

“I’m open to additional assistance,” he told Politico. “It’s not just going to be a check, though. You get my point?”

McConnell also suggested to Fox News Radio host Guy Benson that President Donald Trump should cut back on the time he spends speaking at White House coronavirus briefings, saying most Americans would rather hear information about the pandemic from medical professionals.

“Well, certainly what the American people are most interested in is the advice from health professionals about how to conduct their daily lives safely,” he said.

McConnell told Politico that his remarks about the bankruptcy plan — which drew a bipartisan rebuke after he made them on a conservative talk radio show last week — were “a classic case of taking things out of context.”

“The fundamental point I was trying to make is that we’re not interested in borrowing money from future generations to help states solve problems that they created themselves,” McConnell said. “The bankruptcy suggestion would have been optional, anyway. I wasn’t assuming many of them were going to take that option.”

In the interview with Hugh Hewitt last week, McConnell said that he “would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route.”

“It saves some cities,” he told the radio host. “And there’s no good reason for it not to be available. My guess is their first choice would be for the federal government to borrow money from future generations to send it down to them now so they don’t have to do that. That’s not something I’m going to be in favor of.”

Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y., rebuked McConnell hours later, calling his fellow Republican’s remarks “indefensible” and dubbing the majority leader “the Marie Antoinette of the Senate.”

“To say that it is ‘free money’ to provide funds for cops, firefighters and healthcare workers makes McConnell the Marie Antoinette of the Senate,” King tweeted, in reference to the senator’s remark that “we all have governors regardless of party who would love to have free money.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, the Republican chair of the National Governors Association (NGA), which requested a $500 billion aid package that was blocked by the GOP-led Senate, told ABC News that McConnell “probably would regret” that comment.

“I think it just slipped out, but I’m hopeful that we will be able to convince Senator McConnell to go along with the bipartisan bill in the Senate and the administration’s commitment to help the states in that final stimulus package,” he said.

Though he stopped short of a full retraction, McConnell staked out a new position that leaves open the possibility of another round of financial relief for state and local governments, who have received $150 billion in federal aid. Municipal officials and governors say that amount is dangerously insufficient and could force states to make “drastic” cuts, as the NGA warned Congress, leaving the national recovery “dramatically hampered.”

“We’re not writing a check to send down to states to allow them to, in effect, finance mistakes they’ve made unrelated to the coronavirus,” McConnell said.

The president echoed the majority leader’s talking point in a tweet the same day.

“Why should the people and taxpayers of America be bailing out poorly run states (like Illinois, as example) and cities, in all cases Democrat run and managed, when most other states are not looking for bailout help?” Trump tweeted.

But Republican states are overall more dependent on federal assistance, with McConnell’s home of Kentucky ranking second overall. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut on Monday tweeted, “If Florida would like to have a conversation about making sure no state gets more money from the federal government than they send to it, Connecticut is ready,” responding to Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott’s assertion that federal aid for blue states was “not fair to the taxpayers of Florida.”

In the Monday interview with Fox News Radio, McConnell appeared to relent.

“There probably will be another state and local funding bill, but we need to make sure that we achieve something that will go beyond simply sending out money,” the senator from Kentucky said.

McConnell later suggested that the American people want to hear less from Trump and more from the experts about “how to conduct their lives safely.”

“And to the extent that the White House decides to re-craft those briefings to reflect that goal — probably a good idea,” he added.
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https://www.rawstory.com/2020/04/mc...states-go-bankrupt-after-bipartisan-backlash/

stumbler · Apr 30, 2020

Pelosi floats almost $1T for states in next relief package

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that Democrats will push for including almost $1 trillion in the next coronavirus relief package to help states and local governments hit hard by the pandemic.

That figure, Pelosi said, would likely be the single largest line-item of the Democrats' next emergency package, known as CARES 2, which is also expected to include hundreds of billions of dollars more to help workers, businesses and families weather the crisis.

"We're not going to be able to cover all of it, but to the extent that we can keep the states and localities sustainable, that's our goal," Pelosi told reporters in the basement of the near-deserted Capitol.

It means the Democrats' next emergency relief proposal is likely to approximate the massive size of the initial CARES Act, adopted March 27, which provided $2.2 trillion in emergency help largely for major industries and small businesses left devastated by the economic fallout of the global pandemic.

It also foreshadows a fierce fight with Republicans in the Senate, where GOP leaders had rejected any new funding for state and local governments in the last "interim" coronavirus bill, enacted last week, and are wary that any new help for states going forward would simply bail out governors for fiscal mismanagement preceding the health crisis.

"That strikes me as a pretty outrageous number, just for state and local support," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters in the Capitol, shortly after Pelosi floated the $1 trillion figure. "We've already provided $150 billion in CARES 1."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said he'd prefer to see the states declare bankruptcy than grant them more federal help.

Senate Republicans, he warned last week, won't support "revenue replacement for state governments" or "solving their pension problems."

McConnell's critics have been quick to point out that Kentucky, where the Senate leader is seeking reelection this year, receives many billions of dollars more from Washington than its residents pay in federal taxes.

And Pelosi on Thursday dismissed McConnell's opposition, saying Democrats are prepared to go to the mat to ensure that medical workers and other first responders are not laid off as a result of the economic crunch facing states around the country, which have seen tax revenues plummet amid the crisis.

"They're risking their lives to save lives, and now they're going to lose their jobs? It's just stunning, and we have to address it," Pelosi said. "This isn't about any other budget issues for states; it's about the coronavirus outlays [and] revenue lost."

Pelosi said that assistance could arrive in as many as three separate "tranches" — providing aid to hard-hit states, counties and municipalities — and could extend for three or four years, providing long-term help as the economy stabilizes.

"It's not just for one year," she said. "It's over time."

Aside from the state funding, Democrats in CARES 2 are also eyeing vast new spending for direct cash payments to individuals, medical equipment and unemployment insurance, which has taken on new gravity as roughly 30 million people have filed for jobless benefits over the last six weeks alone.

Democrats are also fighting to include tens of billions of dollars to expand broadband services around the country, particularly in rural and other underserved regions, where students and medical providers have had a tougher time accessing the internet during the crisis.

"The only way you can have online learning is with broadband," said Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the House majority whip and leading champion of the broadband provisions.

The timing of CARES 2 remains unclear. While the House was initially scheduled to be in session next week, Democratic leaders scrapped that plan on Tuesday, citing the advice of the Capitol physician. And Pelosi on Thursday set a tentative return date for the week of May 11, although committees are expected to be back earlier to work on CARES 2.

“We’re not coming back this week. Our plan is to come back the following week,” she said.

Clyburn, who is heading a newly created committee overseeing coronavirus spending, said that panel will likely meet next week in Washington.

Pelosi on Wednesday had named six additional Democrats to that committee. It remains unclear, however, if House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will designate any Republicans to participate on the panel, which GOP lawmakers have characterized as a political tool for attacking President Trump.

Amid the uncertainty, Pelosi on Thursday ruled out at least one strategy: The House, she said, would not take up another interim bill, like last week's $484 billion package, which went largely toward replenishing small business loans under the Paycheck Protection Program.

"We're all for that, and we just did do an intervention. But we must do a CARES bill now. We cannot put that off," she said. "Our next plan will be CARES 2."
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/495497-pelosi-floats-almost-1t-for-states-in-next-relief-package

shootersa · Apr 30, 2020

No despicable, no deplorable can ever again claim fiscal responsibility.

But Nancy Antoinette can proudly proclaim that she's never seen a crisis she couldn't love.

latecomer91364 · May 1, 2020

This woman, and many thousands more like her, are showing up to work.

This woman, who makes many more times than the woman in the above photo, couldn't be bothered to do her job.

Who do you admire, America?

stumbler · May 3, 2020

Pelosi and McConnell team up — to reject COVID-19 testing that could get Capitol Hill working again

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are rejecting offers of COVID-19 tests that would allow Congress to get back to work.

“Congress is grateful for the administration’s generous offer to deploy rapid COVID-19 testing capabilities to Capitol Hill, but we respectfully decline the offer at this time,” the two said in a joint-statement.

“Our country’s testing capacities are continuing to scale up nationwide and Congress wants to keep directing resources to the front-line facilities where they can do the most good the most quickly,” the two said.

Congress has been highly criticized for not meeting while the country is facing coronavirus and economic crises.

Jake Sherman ✔ @JakeSherman

PELOSI AND MCCONNELL decline COVID testing for members on Capitol Hill.

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1:29 PM - May 2, 2020
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https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/pe...ng-that-could-get-capitol-hill-working-again/

stumbler · May 6, 2020

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be on MSNBC next hour. Pelosi has been kind of all over TV lately proving she is working tirelessly for the American people in the face of a deadly pandemic being made worse by the day by the mad king dictator Trump.

‘It’s very sad’: Nancy Pelosi blasts Trump’s mix of arrogance and scientific ignorance

Speaking on MSNBC this morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed President Trump’s advocacy for unproven coronavirus treatments, specifically drugs like Hydroxychloroquine, adding that not only is Trump pushing for these drugs, he’s also pushing for the agencies in charge of approving medical treatments to approve “what the administration wants rather than what science demands.”

“But nonetheless … let’s just go forward,” Pelosi said. “Let’s say that what we’re doing legislatively that we will provide the resources for our health services and the rest to meet the needs of the American people, for our scientists to quickly, as soon as possible, find a vaccine, hopefully a cure even sooner than that, and that we will make sure there is integrity in how it is developed and integrity in how it’s distributed. That doesn’t exist right now according to what we’re seeing from the White House.”

Host Andrea Mitchell then mentioned how a high profile vaccine researcher was allegedly removed from his government post for questioning the wisdom of Trump’s push for unproven treatments.

“When he takes scientists out because they’re not quickly giving approvals to his preferred choice of medicines, it’s beyond me,” Pelosi said. “That is a danger to our system. Efficacy and safety, they’re the hallmarks of how a drug is proved and [moved] forward. We have seen that some things [Trump] has recommended have not been safe while he was recommending them. That’s very sad.”

Watch:
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https://www.rawstory.com/2020/04/it...ps-mix-of-arrogance-and-scientific-ignorance/

shootersa · May 6, 2020

Pelosi has been kind of all over TV lately proving she is working tirelessly for the American people in the face of a deadly pandemic......

Oh God, be still my heart ............ Nancy Antoinette working tirelessly for the American People ...............
In the face of a deadly pandemic ........... Yeah, a brain freeze maybe ...........

You keep on, rear admiral butt nuggett, this post of yours filled Shooters humor quota for the week.

stumbler · May 6, 2020

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in DC working everyday. And I had to just laugh my ass off today when Mrs Alan Greenspan AKA Andrea Mitchell had a whole bunch of shit stirring questions for her and Pelosi just kept running over the top of her to get the information the American people really need to know. She knew she only had so much time and had to say what she needed to say about the legislation they are trying to push through and stop Trump from killing more Americans.

stumbler · May 12, 2020

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi got a chance to talk about major portions of this tonight on Chris Hayes. And I think most of them will be very popular with the American people.

The 8 key provisions expected in Democrats' next COVID-19 bill

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Democrats are charging ahead this week with the next round of emergency coronavirus relief — another massive, multitrillion-dollar package designed to buttress the economy against the devastating pandemic.

The enormous bill — the fifth legislative response to COVID-19 — could arrive as early as Monday or Tuesday, according to Democratic aides. That sets the stage for a House vote as soon as Friday, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has said.

Dubbed CARES 2, the legislation is expected to adhere largely to the contours of the first CARES Act, enacted March 27, by providing help to medical providers, small businesses, workers and families most affected by the crisis.

But with House Democrats taking the first crack at this latest round of relief — without any GOP input — the proposal is expected to feature a host of additional provisions, excluded from earlier bills, to act as a values statement heading into negotiations with Republicans in the Senate and White House. And Pelosi is urging Democrats not to be shy about their suggested add-ons.

“The Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank has told us to 'Think Big' because interest rates are so low,” Pelosi wrote to Democrats in a Mother’s Day message. “We must ‘Think Big’ For The People now, because if we don’t, it will cost more later. Not acting is the most expensive course.”

With that in mind, Democratic aides said the package will likely top the $2.2 trillion price tag of the CARES Act — and *launch a fierce partisan battle over which groups should benefit from what could be the last major coronavirus-response bill to move through Congress.

GOP leaders are already signaling they'd prefer to wait a few weeks to gauge the effectiveness of the previous rounds of relief before launching into another.

"I don't think we have yet felt the urgency of acting immediately," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters in the Capitol on Monday.

Meanwhile, the following are eight major provisions expected in the forthcoming Democratic bill.

State and local help

Democrats have made it no mystery that the single largest line-item of the next round of relief will be funding for state and local governments, which have been clobbered as the pandemic has spiked emergency workforce costs while simultaneously shrinking tax revenues. That combination, Democrats argue, has threatened the jobs of the same front line responders — police officers, 911 dispatchers and medical workers, to name a few — most crucial for a recovery.

Their bill, as outlined by Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), is expected to include three separate buckets of local government funding: one for states, another for counties, and yet another for municipalities. The total cost, Pelosi has said, will approach $1 trillion.

That provision sets up a fight in the Senate. While President Trump has voiced support for more state aid, GOP leaders have opposed extra funding, arguing it would bail out governors for self-imposed budget problems that preceded the coronavirus.

Rent and mortgage assistance

Millions of out-of-work Americans are struggling to pay their rent or mortgage during the coronavirus crisis. Democrats want to give them more certainty when it comes to putting a roof over their head.

Reps. Denny Heck (Wash.) and Maxine Waters (Calif.), the powerful Financial Services Committee chairwoman, have teamed up on legislation, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, that calls for a new $100 billion program to help families and individuals pay their rent and utilities.

Taking their cue from the #CancelRent movement, liberal firebrands like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) are pushing more drastic legislation that would halt rent and mortgage payments altogether during the pandemic. But that proposal has unnerved landlords, won’t fly with Democratic moderates and will be ignored by leadership.

Cash payments

The initial CARES Act — negotiated by Democratic leaders and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — gave most Americans a one-time $1,200 relief check. It proved to be enormously popular, but voters say it wasn’t enough.

Democrats are now rallying behind a proposal to give most Americans a monthly $2,000 relief check throughout the duration of the pandemic. The recurring checks or direct deposits would provide an added safety net for many families as they struggle to buy groceries and pay rent during the economic shutdown.

At least four Democratic lawmakers, including progressive Reps. Ro Khanna (Calif.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), have authored direct payments legislation. Pelosi hasn’t signaled her preference, but she has been talking up the idea on conference calls with members and in her Mother’s Day message.

“Direct payments, unemployment insurance, rental and mortgage help and student loan assistance are essential to relieve the fear that many families are facing,” Pelosi wrote.

Help for workers and businesses

As states across the country forced businesses to close while keeping customers indoors, Washington stepped in to try to mitigate the damage. They did it largely by expanding unemployment insurance benefits and creating the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which offers forgivable loans to small businesses and is designed to keep employees on the payroll even as revenues dry up.

Neither has kept pace with the demand. More than 32 million people have filed unemployment claims over the past seven weeks. And the PPP has blown through roughly $540 billion of the $670 billion Congress has allotted the program since the end of March.

The Democrats’ new aid package is expected to provide hundreds of billions of dollars more to replenish both initiatives. Pelosi has also vowed to tweak the guidelines of the PPP, to ensure that smaller businesses in underserved areas are not cut out of the program.

Alternatively, Democrats are also eyeing a strategy for replacing the PPP with a program that provides federal grants directly to employers, allowing workers to remain employed — and receiving health benefits — without navigating approval through the middleman banks.

Broadband

Pelosi and Democratic leaders have, for now, veered away from earlier plans to move an enormous infrastructure package as part of the next round of coronavirus relief. But certain infrastructure provisions are sure to appear in their CARES 2 bill, and none more prominent than an expansion of broadband service to rural, low-income and other vulnerable communities.

The proposal has a powerful champion in Rep. James Clyburn (S.C.), the Democratic whip, who is pushing for roughly $80 billion in new broadband funding for those regions, citing the disadvantage to students and patients who can’t otherwise access remote health and education services during the pandemic.

“Just as the Great Depression made clear to many that electricity was the ‘next greatest thing’ in the 20th century, the coronavirus pandemic is making clear to all that broadband is the ‘next greatest thing’ for many in the 21st century,” Clyburn said last week.

Pelosi has said Democrats might also push for language in CARES 2 preventing water utilities from cutting service during the pandemic.

Testing, tracing, treatment

At the center of the battle over reopening the economy is a complicated debate over coronavirus testing. In the broadest strokes, Trump and his GOP allies are urging a quick alleviation of social distancing standards around the country for the sake of reviving the shattered economy. Democrats, meanwhile, have joined the chorus of public health experts in warning that a rush to normalcy could spark a surge in cases, forcing another lockdown and demolishing any economic recovery the reopening was designed to promote.

Testifying last week before a House committee, Tom Frieden, former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told lawmakers that U.S. health officials will need “at least two or three times the current volume” of tests to reopen the country safely.

Pelosi is on board. While Congress adopted $25 billion for testing in their last “interim” coronavirus bill, the Speaker says it’s not enough, and CARES 2 will provide billions more.

“The sooner we can identify the scale of this problem with the testing, testing, testing, tracing, [and] treatment, the sooner we'll be able to open up our economy,” Pelosi told Gray TV on Sunday. “Not to do that is to prolong this.”

Postal service

Americans interact almost every single day with the United States Postal Service. But the massive federal agency is hemorrhaging money and could go bankrupt this fall, forcing officials to dramatically scale back popular mail-delivery services. The coronavirus, by slashing advertising by mail, has only exacerbated the crisis.

Trump has not been sympathetic; he’s called the postal service a “joke” and threatened to reject any aid in the next coronavirus bill unless it hikes its shipping rates for online retailers like Amazon.

Pelosi and Democrats have already vowed to include rescue funding for the postal service in their next bill. They’re aiming for at least $25 billion in direct aid, a figure they sought in negotiations for the first CARES legislation but that was rejected by GOP leaders.

Separately, they’re calling for as much as $4 billion to help states create systems for all-mail balloting — a provision designed to protect this year’s elections if the coronavirus remains a health threat in November.

Nutrition programs

A sticking point in the debate over the initial CARES Act was Democrats’ demand for a 15 percent increase in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps. They didn’t get it, and party leaders are now promising to use CARES 2 to fill the void.

The advocacy is hardly new; Democrats have long championed supplemental nutrition programs for low-income families. But the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic has heightened their urgency. Writing in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Lowey and Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) argued for increases in not only SNAP, but also a separate program to help schools feed children and local food banks meet the surge in demand.

“We have an obligation as a nation,” they wrote, “to protect the health and lives of the American people.”

Pelosi and Democratic leaders will stage a conference call with the full caucus Monday evening to discuss the emerging CARES 2 proposal.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/...ions-expected-in-democrats-next-covid-19-bill

shootersa · May 12, 2020

Yes!
Add in free college, and write off education debt and how about guaranteed jobs and guaranteed income! $2,000 is not enough, most cable and cell bills will eat the $2,000 up.
And what the hell, while we're at it add in health care!

Interest rates are so low, we won't even notice the interest on $30 TRILLION!

stumbler · May 12, 2020

House Democrats unveil $3 trillion coronavirus relief package

House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled their latest round of legislation to provide Americans with economic relief from the coronavirus pandemic.

The House is expected to pass the $3 trillion bill on Friday along party lines as Democrats seek to put pressure on Republicans to start negotiations for additional measures to contain the impact of the outbreak on workers.

The legislation provides additional funding for food assistance and state and local governments, among other provisions.

Senate Republicans and the White House have called for a "pause" before taking up additional legislation so lawmakers can review the impact of already-allocated coronavirus relief funds.

The House is also expected to vote Friday on rules changes to allow lawmakers to vote remotely and conduct committee work virtually. House Democrats are planning to vote on permitting proxy voting, which would allow absent lawmakers to authorize colleagues physically present in the Capitol to cast votes on their behalf.

A bipartisan task force has been discussing options for the House to operate during the pandemic, but so far no agreement has been reached. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), a member of the task force, told reporters on Tuesday that Democrats will still move forward with the rules changes even if they can't come to a bipartisan agreement.

"I've indicated that if we can't reach agreement that we will nevertheless present a path forward to ensure the Congress can do its duties," Hoyer said.

DEVELOPING
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/...-unveil-3-trillion-coronavirus-relief-package

CS natureboy · May 12, 2020

stumbler said: ↑

House Democrats unveil $3 trillion coronavirus relief package

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/...-unveil-3-trillion-coronavirus-relief-package
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Only stupid corrupt Democrats and RINO's are trying to create government dependency in this way. Americans need to find ways of helping ourselves independent of the government. I and many people like me do not want to be dependent and subservient to these politicians or the government...

You on the other hand sound like you can't get enough of the nanny state.

stumbler · May 13, 2020

CS natureboy said: ↑

Only stupid corrupt Democrats and RINO's are trying to create government dependency in this way. Americans need to find ways of helping ourselves independent of the government. I and many people like me do not want to be dependent and subservient to these politicians or the government...

You on the other hand sound like you can't get enough of the nanny state.
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So surely the "REAL" Republicans will vote it down or Trump will veto it right? Republicans control both.

CS natureboy · May 13, 2020

stumbler said: ↑

So surely the "REAL" Republicans will vote it down or Trump will veto it right? Republicans control both.
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Yes, I believe Nancy Antoinette's new 3 trillion dollar power grab and tax payer rip off will go down in flames when it hits the Senate...

deleted user 555 768 · May 13, 2020

"Trump, Shumer and Pelosi", .... "Stormy, Cohen, Avanatti and Rudy"

I hate cluster fuck threads, they're each individuals and deserve an individual thread

ace's n 8's · May 13, 2020

Pelosi: ''we will never be able to spend $3 trillion as cheap as we can today with the low interests rates.''

U.S. Citizen: ''what are you proposing?''

Pelosi: ''Funding more planned parent hood procedures, Funding States and Local Governments that that experienced hardship, and re-writing legislation that takes over the State elections''

U.S. Citizen: ''But Speaker...what does any of that have to do with the fight against CoVid 10?''

Pelosi: ''Are you serious?...''

stumbler · May 13, 2020

Eight surprises in House Democrats' $3T coronavirus relief bill

House Democrats on Tuesday released their latest proposal for coronavirus relief — a massive package designed largely to press reluctant GOP leaders in the Senate and White House to get moving on another infusion of emergency aid.

Much of the enormous proposal was expected, providing hundreds of billions of dollars for medical workers, states, small businesses and those left jobless as a result of the expansive economic lockdown sparked by the deadly pandemic.

Yet in choosing to craft the bill without Republican input, *Democratic leaders freed themselves to pile the package high with a host of partisan proposals favored by the various factions of their diverse progressive base. And the final product, unveiled Tuesday afternoon by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), featured a number of unexpected provisions sure to grab outsized attention — and criticism from across the aisle.

Here are a few of the more unusual proposals tucked into the $3 trillion package:

Inspector general protections

In a shot at the White House, the Democrats’ legislation would neuter President Trump’s power to fire inspectors general without a specific cause.

The proposal comes just weeks after Trump dismissed Glenn Fine, the acting Pentagon inspector general who was slated to lead oversight of Congress' coronavirus response, as well as Michael Atkinson, the top watchdog for the intelligence community. Atkinson’s decision to inform Congress of a whistleblower complaint related to Trump’s dealings with Ukraine led to the president’s impeachment in December — and prompted accusations that Trump had fired him as retribution for the humiliating episode.

Under the Democrats’ proposal, the president can remove an inspector general only on specific grounds, including abuse of power, “permanent incapacity,” neglect and “conviction of a felony or conduct involving moral turpitude.”

Mandatory masks on Amtrak

While congressional lawmakers are under no obligation to wear masks in the Capitol, the Democrats want to make it mandatory for those on Amtrak — employees and passengers alike — to do so.

The requirement, if adopted, would run through the duration of the national emergency declared by the president in March. It comes after a number of lawmakers voiced concerns about the lack of masks in airports and train stations on their most recent visit to Capitol Hill in late April, when they voted on the previous emergency relief package.

Provisions for pot businesses

Tucked deep within the Democratic package is popular bipartisan legislation aiding the marijuana industry.

The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, passed by the House in September on a 321-103 vote, would allow cannabis businesses and their providers — many of which have remained open during the coronavirus crisis — to work with federally backed banks and insurers.

Anti-pot groups are objecting to the inclusion of the SAFE legislation, but the author of the bill cheered the decision.

The coronavirus crisis “has only exacerbated the risk posed to cannabis businesses & their employees & they need relief just like any other legitimate business,” Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) tweeted.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter ✔ @RepPerlmutter

I just learned the #SAFEBankingAct is included in the CARES 2.0 package. I have been pushing for this because the #COVID19 crisis has only exacerbated the risk posed to cannabis businesses & their employees & they need relief just like any other legitimate business. #copolitics

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10:46 AM - May 12, 2020

Utility shut-offs

While the Democrats have delayed plans to use general infrastructure spending as a mid-pandemic stimulus, their latest proposal features several infrastructure provisions related directly to the crisis. One of them, the expansion of broadband, was widely expected. Another, a ban on utility companies cutting off water and electricity during the crisis, flew largely under the radar.

Under the legislation, states and utility companies receiving federal help would be required to maintain water and electricity services through the duration of the pandemic, even for those unable to pay their bills. Separately, the package allocates up to $3 billion to help low-income families pay their power and water bills.

EPA study on pollution and health

It’s been long established that poorer, minority communities also tend to be more polluted than wealthier regions of the country. With the arrival of the coronavirus — and revelations that African Americans have suffered disproportionately from COVID-19 — Democrats want to examine the potential link between the disease and pollution exposure.

Their latest bill would do just that, providing $50 million to the Environmental Protection Agency to fund environment justice grants, part of which would go to examine the prevalence of coronavirus in high-pollution districts.

Nursing home ‘strike teams’

In many states, more than half of all COVID-19 deaths being reported are in nursing homes. House Democrats want to establish so-called strike teams that could extinguish coronavirus outbreaks in those senior facilities before they take off.

A provision in the House bill would set aside $150 million for the Department of Health and Human Services to create groups that would be deployed to help nursing facilities contain and manage outbreaks.

It’s not a new idea. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, launched strike teams last month after COVID-19 cases were confirmed in 90 elderly care facilities in his state. His teams include local health care workers, National Guard members and other health experts.

Funding for the arts and humanities

Republicans mocked the first CARES stimulus package that earmarked $25 million to help the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts weather the coronavirus crisis. But Democrats are doubling down in their next package.

They’ve allocated $10 million more for the National Endowment for the Arts to provide relief grants for state and regional arts organizations, and an additional $10 million for National Endowment for the Humanities grants.

The arts and humanities groups each received $75 million in relief aid in the original CARES Act that President Trump signed into law March 27.

Aid for meat and dairy industries

Meat shortages spurred by coronavirus-afflicted meatpacking plants have dominated headlines in recent weeks. Supply-chain problems have also plagued the dairy industry.

The Democrats' plan aims to ease some of the pain for the meat and dairy industries. It would send emergency aid directly to livestock and poultry producers who have been forced to euthanize livestock due to disruptions related to COVID-19.

It would also create a federal dairy donation program to prevent dairy producers from needing to dump their milk as millions of families go hungry.
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*House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats may not get what they want out of the bill. But they will surely capatilize every time the Republicans tell a group of Americans; "No we refuse to help you." Which is never good in an election year.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/497457-8-surprises-in-the-democrats-coronavirus-relief-bill

stumbler · May 13, 2020

Pelosi defends $3 trillion relief bill: "The American people are worth it"

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) defended the Democrats' $3 trillion coronavirus relief proposal on Wednesday, telling the AP in an interview that the pandemic is the "biggest disaster that our country has ever faced.”

The big picture: Pelosi said Congress needs to address the crisis "in a big way." She conceded the current proposal is a starting point for potential negotiations with President Trump and Republicans, who weren't involved in crafting the bill and have already soundly rejected it.

If passed, the bill would be the largest spending package in U.S. history. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday balked at the idea of adding to the national debt after Congress passed the $2 trillion CARES Act in March, saying he is "assessing the effectiveness of that before deciding to go forward."

"Well, it's interesting to see what they're saying, becoming now, renewing their fiscal hawk positions that they can barely remember. I have confidence in going big with what we do," Pelosi told MSNBC Monday.

"When I saw them give a $2 trillion addition to the national debt in order to give 83 percent of the benefits to the top one percent, that was so irresponsible in terms of it did nothing for the economy except heap mountains of debt on our children," she added, referring to the 2017 Republican tax cut.

Between the lines: Pelosi received some backup for her spending wishes from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, who warned on Wednesday of long-term economic damage without additional stimulus. Powell has previously urged Pelosi to "think big" on stimulus while interest rates are near zero.

What she's saying: “The president calls it a war — we’re all warriors, that people are dying in the war. No these are family, and people are dying in the family.”

“The American people are worth it,” Pelosi added.

Click to expand...

https://www.axios.com/pelosi-defend...ill-f6dfb1c6-86b3-478e-a5ab-ada24f285577.html

CS natureboy · May 13, 2020

stumbler said: ↑

Pelosi defends $3 trillion relief bill: "The American people are worth it"

https://www.axios.com/pelosi-defend...ill-f6dfb1c6-86b3-478e-a5ab-ada24f285577.html
Click to expand...

Yeah, problem is "The American people" would never see a dime of Nancy Antoinette's 3 trillion dollar tax payer rip off.

Besides the corrupt Democrats can't even account for the 2 trillion dollar stimulus they have already squandered....

ace's n 8's · May 13, 2020

stumbler said: ↑

Eight surprises in House Democrats' $3T coronavirus relief bill

*House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats may not get what they want out of the bill. But they will surely capatilize every time the Republicans tell a group of Americans; "No we refuse to help you." Which is never good in an election year.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/497457-8-surprises-in-the-democrats-coronavirus-relief-bill
Click to expand...

stumbler said: ↑

Pelosi defends $3 trillion relief bill: "The American people are worth it"

https://www.axios.com/pelosi-defend...ill-f6dfb1c6-86b3-478e-a5ab-ada24f285577.html
Click to expand...

Hmp...not worth the paper that it was written on...

Pelosi had best hurry up tho...just a few months left with her reign of terror on the American People.

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