As Cheddar celebrates Black History Month, House Majority Whip, Jim Clyburn (D-S.C. 6th District) shared his expectations of President Joe Biden while his new administration gets settled in.
With Black Americans and other minority groups disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic both economically and physically, Clyburn noted that the president has to get a grasp on the virus with testing, tracing, and vaccinations before focusing on rebuilding the economy.
"When things get stabilized, then it's time for us to look at how we go out and generate a new economy," he said. "That's why I'm so proud of the fact that in [Biden's] very first move, he made it very clear: this is a rescue."
The South Carolina Democrat, however, mentioned that closing existing gaps across a range of areas, including wealth and education, has to be a priority for the Biden administration. He also said the country will not be able to make progress without facing the stark racial divisions that have left the country so flawed.
It was a similar sentiment for Clyburn when it came to addressing the extremism on display in the U.S. such as that of the Capitol Hill riots. While he said he believes it is possible to put an end to hate groups and domestic terrorism, he said the country has to do more self-reflection and hold itself accountable.
"We've never done enough and simply because we've never admitted [domestic terrorism] existed. That's a big problem. You cannot solve a problem until you admit that there is a problem, otherwise, you're simply ignoring and hoping it will go away," Clyburn noted, linking modern extremist groups such as the Proud Boys to the likes of the older Ku Klux Klan.
The South Carolina representative also said that he's confident that President Biden will work towards addressing the growing issue of domestic terror.
Clyburn added that he wants the president to honor the late John Lewis and focus on securing future U.S. elections. Following the volatile November elections that seated Biden and the January Senate races in Georgia that saw two Democrats unseat their GOP counterparts, Republican officials in the state have been looking to clamp down further on voter ID laws.
"That, to me, if we were able to move [the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act] rather quickly and put that in law, we will have a lasting impact for John Lewis because it's in that law that we will stop some of the voter suppression that is taking place, that was doubled down upon after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965," he said.
Cryptocurrencies and digital assets are ideally left to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, rather than the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to Congressman Darren Soto (D-Fla.). "Securities laws can be very intense and hurt the market unless it’s truly a security,” Soto told Cheddar Thursday.
These are the headlines you Need to Know for Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019.
Television psychologist Phil McGraw, better known as Dr. Phil, praised his "best friend" and colleague in entertainment Oprah Winfrey in an almost-endorsement for a presidential run on Wednesday when he joined Cheddar to discuss his new podcast, "Phil in the Blanks."
Apple is planning to slash production for its newer iPhone models by 10 percent this quarter, according to a report in the Nikkei. However, CEO Tim Cook continues to say that the iPhone XR is the best-selling phone in company history. Trade talks between China and the U.S. wrapped up Wednesday after an unscheduled third day of negotiations. Both sides expressed optimism over the progress made during these talks. Plus, Hope King sits down with Bridget Karlin, chief technology officer for IBM Global Technology Services, to talk about the future of blockchain and much more.
The Internal Revenue Service says it will process tax returns at the end of the month, even though the government is shut down. Scott Hodge, president of the Tax Foundation, talked to Cheddar about how the agency is moving forward.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019.
After a period of serious flip-flopping, major U.S. television networks have agreed to broadcast President Trump's Tuesday night Oval Office address on immigration to the nation, but according to Christine Emba of the Washington Post, the decision may not be sensical ー largely because it marks a significant departure.
As the partial government shutdown spans its 18th day, furloughed federal workers like Sam Shirazi who have been placed on unpaid leave are struggling with both an immediate financial reality and a more amorphous sense of uncertainty. "We don't know when it's going to end, and it doesn't seem like it's going to end anytime soon," Shirazi told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin on Tuesday.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2018.
When freshman Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez floated the idea to Anderson Cooper on "60 Minutes" Sunday that the very wealthy pay a marginal tax rate as high as 70 percent, it got pundits and politicians all worked up. What exactly was the newly-elected, self-proclaimed radical proposing?
