After claiming the Democrats did “jiu jitsu” on the $2 trillion coronavirus aid package in order to focus more on individuals rather than corporations, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who turns 80 today, said the House will take up the measure tomorrow.
While she said Thursday that she is “very proud of the product” and expects it to pass with strong bipartisan support, she does not expect unanimous consent.
Echoing warnings of public health officials nationwide, Pelosi said getting coronavirus under control “won’t happen unless we respect science, science, science. And for those who say we choose prayer over science, I say science is an answer to our prayers.”
Pelosi, who worked closely with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on negotiating the Phase III bill, said “with all the respect in the world” for Mnuchin, “there was this idea they put forth there would be a $500 billion slush fund for the Secretary of the Treasury with no accountability, whatsoever. Are you kidding?” Pelosi said she is pleased the new language in the bill has a Treasury inspector general and a five-person Congressional oversight committee to oversee the distribution of those funds.
Pelosi is expected to introduce the 880-page Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (or CARES) Act to the House tomorrow. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the chamber will likely consider the bill by voice vote, with an option for House members to debate on the floor.
The bill faced last-minute opposition from both sides of the Senate aisle. Some Republicans argued provisions of the act disincentivized people from working while Democrats argued there was too much relief for corporations, rather than individuals.
While listing off changes to the bill that she was happy with, Pelosi noted that money to major corporations like airlines are conditional upon those funds going directly to workers.
“With all three of our bills, we have put families and workers first,” she said. She also expressed hope that a potential Phase IV of the relief bill will offer even more worker protections and increased state and local funding.
As she urged people to continue staying home and following warnings of health officials, Pelosi said “the markets are not going to succeed unless we take care of people,” she said.
Without naming the president directly, Pelosi pushed back on the administration’s suggestion that the federal government ease social distancing guidelines and urged him to invoke the Defense Production Act to increase production of ventilators and coordinate distribution. If the nation does not act carefully, she warned “the light at the end of the tunnel may be a train coming at us.”
She also said she was disappointed that Republicans would not agree to an increase in food stamp benefits. In response, she has included that as a priority for another phase of the deal. Other priorities include expanding Family and Medical Leave Act and workplace health and safety protections, expanding the allowance of pension smoothing, and creating a better funding formula for the District of Columbia, which was classified as a territory rather than a state in the Phase III plan.
Though Pelosi said ‘nothing surprises me around here,” she found it “curious” that Washington D.C. was treated “in a very discriminatory way.”
“It doesn’t make sense unless you have some other motivation,” she said.
Still, Pelosi said, “We will have a victory tomorrow for America’s workers.”
But although she may be planning to celebrate a legislative victory tomorrow, her more personal birthday celebration will have to wait until she can hug her grandchildre
A Gallup poll finds that now 7.1% of American adults identify as LGBTQ, jumping from 3.5% in 2012. The increase is driven by Generation-Z – those born between 1997 and 2003 – of whom one out of five identify as LGBTQ. Cheddar News speaks with Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson about the significant shift.
As the Biden administration continues to see the potential for an imminent invasion of Ukraine after contradictory reports of a Russian troop pullback or buildup, Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif. 7th District), a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, joined Cheddar News to give his insight into the tense situation. "When I was in Ukraine a couple of weeks ago and we were talking with the Ukrainian leadership with President Zelensky, they said we ought to approach Vladimir Putin as though he was a poker player," he said. "So this could be one of those head fakes where he's saying one thing and doing another thing."
The Biden Administration has now issued new guidelines when it comes to carbon capture. The new guidelines handed down this week encouraged the widespread use of climate attacks that traps and stores carbon emissions. The goal here is the process would help keep carbon out of the atmosphere without requiring a whole lot of change by big companies and manufacturing plants. Several scientists say that this method would be crucial to help us decrease the use of carbon emissions by the year 2050. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, Mark Jacobson, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Natalie Fertig, federal cannabis policy reporter for Politico Pro, joins Cheddar News to discuss the latest in marijuana legalization in the United States.
The Biden administration is launching a new task force to promote the use of 'cleaner' construction materials with lower life cycle emissions. This comes as the White House works to speed up government purchases of greener products. Sweta Chakraborty, climate change expert and U.S. president of "We Don't Have Time," joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Due to the staffing shortages of teachers in New Mexico, the state has been encouraging its National Guard members to fill in as licensed substitutes to keep schools open. Kurt Steinhaus, New Mexico secretary of education, joined Cheddar News to explain the state's stopgap measure amid its lack of teaching professionals. "The first thing they have to go through a fingerprint background check, just like any other substitute new Mexico. The second thing they have to do is go through some online training, and then we provided some in-person professional development about classroom management," Steinhaus explained about the qualifications process.
With contradictory reports about Russian troops pulling back or being added to the border with Ukraine and the expulsion of a U.S. diplomat from Russia, tensions in the region appear to be escalating. Jack Detsch, a Pentagon and national security reporter for Foreign Policy, joined Cheddar News to break down the situation. "Certainly a different tone out of Moscow today and a different tone out of the West. Even as the Kremlin has made the case that troops are moving back, the U.S. is saying that is certainly not the case with the satellite imagery that we have pouring in," he said.
New York City's famous subway system is currently facing scrutiny after several recent attacks on platforms. Now, local leaders in the Big Apple are calling on the MTA. To step in and take action.
