While the White House and Senate races remain undetermined, Democrats have retained control in the House of Representatives. Among election night's winners was New York City Councilman, Ritchie Torres, who will represent the 15th district in the South Bronx.
The victory for Torres marks a historic moment for the United States Congress as he becomes the first openly gay Black representative to serve. His win also signifies a sea change in New York after fellow Democrat José Serrano, who held the seat for 30 years, decided not to run again.
"When he entered Congress in 1990, I was only 2 years old, and so yesterday's election in 2020 represents a passing of the torch. And I'm grateful to the voters of the South Bronx for giving the high honor of representing the next generation of leadership," Torres told Cheddar.
With his election, and the reelection of 'The Squad,' the growing diversity in Congress, according to the councilman, is a microcosm of a diverse society.
"More than 60 percent of the House Democratic Conference are women, people of color, LGBTQ, so the Democratic party in Congress [is] increasingly becoming a miniaturization of America, of multi-racial, multi-ethnic democracy. And that's a beautiful thing," he noted.
Putting People First
Torres' first priority as representative is to lobby for essential workers in the South Bronx, which was once one of the epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic, he said. The neighborhood, made up mostly of Black and Latino residents, saw almost twice the amount of hospitalizations and deaths compared to a more densely populated Manhattan.
"We have to put income in the pockets of struggling families because the road to recovery for our country will run through our families. It's their spending that will have the greatest impact in reviving the economy," he explained.
While cases continue to surge nationwide, the bare minimum, Torres said, that the federal government could do to help alleviate the financial burden many are experiencing is provide funds that would expand testing, contact tracing, and a stock of critical supplies.
But for New York in particular, Torres painted a more dire situation, and emphasized the urgent need for federal assistance in the Empire State.
"Economically we need to stabilize our local and state governments. There's never been a point in the history of our country where New York State government and New York City government and the public transit system were all caught in a fiscal death spiral," he said.
For Torres, the fight for such policies remains personal, as he expressed that having a first-hand understanding of how everyday Americans live places him in a unique position to fight for real, effective change.
"The greatest asset that I bring to public life is the wisdom of lived experience. I don't come from a political family. I don't come from privilege. I don't have fancy degrees but I know what it's like to grow up in poverty," Torres said. "Those lived experiences not only inform who I am, but are going to motivate much of what I do in Washington, DC."
House Democrats are scrambling to hold a vote as soon as Tuesday on President Joe Biden's economic agenda — both the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $1.85 trillion social safety net and climate bill. With Biden still overseas, the bill stands in flux. Jennifer Haberkorn, congressional reporter at the Los Angeles Times, joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to discuss.
Lauren Brody, author of "The Fifth Trimester," joined Cheddar to talk about the ongoing fight for a national paid family leave policy after it was cut from the Democratic reconciliation bill negotiation reportedly due to objections from Senator Manchin. Brody discussed how parents are often forced to choose between work and caring for their family and newborns — or even taking time to deal with a traumatic loss. "Frankly, it's appalling to me that we live in a place that doesn't support people who have experienced the death of a baby and then had to go right back to work," she noted.
Even with pandemic lockdowns, greenhouse gas levels reached new highs in 2020, according to the World Meteorological Organization. This report comes just a week ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as Cop26. Shannon Osaka, climate policy and solutions reporter at Grist, joined Cheddar's Between Bells to discuss.
Paid family & medical leave is left out of President Joe Biden's Build Back Better domestic policy plan. Abby Vesoulis, reporter for TIME joins Cheddar News to breakdown what this means for Americans.
Carlo's flying solo today, talking COP26 and climate change, another racially charged trial gets underway, SCOTUS takes on abortion and a stunning rise in traffic deaths points to a bigger societal breakdown sparked by the pandemic.
World leaders will converge this weekend at the 2021 G20 Summit in Rome and the UN COP26 conference in Glasgow with the climate crisis on the agenda. Lord Adair Turner, chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, joined Cheddar to discuss what people can expect to come out of the climate-focused conferences. Turner also noted that one of the biggest hurdles for the attending nations will be coming to a uniform decision on expanding on the Paris Climate Accord goals that have become insufficient to prevent global warming by 1.5 degrees celsius.
Emily Tisch Sussman, senior advisor at Paid Leave US, joined Cheddar's "Between Bells" to discuss paid leave being stripped from the latest budget bill and why it is crucial for parents to have paid time off. Sussman said the pandemic, in particular, highlighted the disparity between women, who left the work force in droves to care for family, and men who continue to work and be rehired as impacted sectors of the economy return.
The Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq each ended Friday's session at a record high as stocks rallied into the green. Chris Vecchio, Senior Analyst at DailyFX, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says this was an 'October to remember' for Wall Street.
