Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) has been very vocal about what she thinks needs to be done to battle the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis.
The senator told Cheddar Monday that postal banking will be able to serve more people during the pandemic, specifically low-income families, who may be unbanked.
"It was instrumental in getting us out of the Depression because post offices were able to sell bonds and it made a difference because it allowed more low-income people to have bank accounts," Gillibrand said.
The senator envisions the U.S. Postal Service re-introduce postal banking through its 30,000 locations in a return to a program that served those impacted the most during the Great Depression, a plan to save both the USPS and economically disadvantaged detailed in an op-ed for The New York Times.
On Friday, President Trump had threatened to withhold aid from the USPS if it doesn't dramatically increase its shipping prices for online retailers. Sen. Gillibrand alleged that his choice to block aid was "fundamentally" related to his resistance to mail-in voting for the November election.
"He is absolutely fighting this because he thinks he will win only if less people are able to vote, which is obviously very cynical and not what we expect from a president," she said.
Previously, a fellow Democrat, New York Governor Cuomo, had criticized Gillibrand and Sen. Charles Schumer, also of New York, for failing to provide enough aid to struggling states like their own, but Gillibrand said they have started negotiating the COVID 4 package that will be geared toward state and local governments.
"Our goal is to allow more cities and states access to federal bailout money," she said. "Hopefully, in this next bill, which will begin in the House and Speaker Pelosi can author it, we will be able to send more money to get the states out of these terrible holes that they can't possibly get out of on their own."
The senator also has an idea for a "health force" job-training program that would put unemployed people to work in the fight against COVID-19 and allow more communities to get tested.
"We would allow for one million workers to be trained in the next two months to do this contact tracing along with testing," Gillibrand said. "We could actually be in the communities testing everyone. If we did that, that's how we can reopen society and schools in the fall."
As the Omicron variant continues to sweep across the country. The US Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments at the end of this week on whether or not the Biden administration can force private companies to vaccinate or test millions of their employees. In addition, the National Nurses United has spearheaded legal action to protect nurses and health care workers, patients, and the public while on the job. President of the National Nurses Union, Zenei Cortez, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Far too often, Americans are forced to navigate a tangled web of outdated government websites, offices way out of their reach, and hours of time 'on hold' to access the simple government services they depend on. A recent executive order, signed by President Biden, is intended to improve, streamline and modernize the 'customer' experience when accessing government services. Mina Hsiang, the administrator of the United States Digital Service, joins Cheddar News to discuss how the tech workforce is impacted by this executive order.
Today marks one year since the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol. The Country watched as supporters of then-President Trump stormed what was assumed to be the most secure building in the country in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 Election. Several lawmakers, including the Vice President, could be seen ducking down as they feared for their lives. Democratic Michigan Representative Dan Kildee, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Stocks closed lower on Friday as investors continue to worry over rate hikes. John Lynch, CIO of Comerica Wealth Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says value is back in play with investors. Lynch also believes the market has overreacted to the latest Fed minutes, suggesting a bounce-back at some point.
Ben Armstrong, founder of Bitboy Crypto, joins Cheddar News to discuss Bitcoin's downward trend and what's next for crypto after protests in Kazakhstan cause crypto miners to shut down.
Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine joins Cheddar Politics to discuss his lawsuit against the extremist groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers over their role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Josh Pasek, a professor at the University of Michigan and expert on political communication and misinformation, joins Cheddar News to discuss how political radicalization happens and how America got to this point.
Kyle Kondik, managing editor at Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, joins Cheddar News to discuss what to expect at the 2022 midterm elections.
Katie Barlow, media editor at SCOTUSblog, joins Cheddar Politics to reflect on what happened at the Supreme Court in 2021 and what may be in store for 2022.
Gerren Keith Gaynor, managing editor of politics and Washington correspondent at The Grio, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the progress President Biden made on his policy agenda in 2021, and what remains to be done in 2022.
