The House of Representatives is expected to re-vote on the Republican Tax bill Wednesday, after procedural problems invalidated the previous votes.
Three portions of the bill reportedly violate the Senate’s Byrd rule, although congress members had already voted 227-203 in favor of the bill. The Senate is expected to continue reviewing its version and vote Tuesday night.
Rep Beto O'Rourke (D-TX), who voted “ no” in the first round of votes, spoke to Cheddar ahead of the most recent snafu, and said that the bill was “terrible”. O’Rourke says Congress had the opportunity to promote upward mobility for low-income and middle class Americans, but doesn’t think the current version does that. Instead, he argues that the plan transfers 86 percent of tax cuts to the wealthy, and knocks 13 million people off health insurance.
“This is the most massive restructuring of the tax code in more than 30 years, and unfortunately this was a blown opportunity,” Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX), told Cheddar.
Before the voting glitch was revealed, President Donald Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, all took to Twitter to celebrate the win. Notably, Speaker Ryan says that the bill is going to help struggling Americans who are living “paycheck-to-paycheck.”
“We said in 2016 that it will take real tax reforms for families and businesses to get the economy growing, and we were serious,” he said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/congressman-beto-orourke-d-tx-is-taking-on-texas-senator-ted-cruz).
Rep. Nino Vitale (R-Ohio 85th District) joined hundreds of protesters at the Ohio state capitol over the weekend, making him one of the few lawmakers to give his tacit support for the small but vocal group of people who are arguing against stay-at-home orders.
Tom Prendergast, the former chairman of the MTA, spoke to Cheddar to offer advice and possible solutions to the paradox of how to run the country's largest public transit network at levels that would help NYC "reopen," while also keeping the millions of daily riders safe.
JetBlue Chairman Joel Peterson said he hoped to avoid furloughs and pay cuts that have been announced by other airlines such as United that would take place after a federally imposed deadline as a stipulation of the airline bailouts.
President Donald Trump said that he will sign an executive order “to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States” because of the coronavirus.
A chorus of governors from both parties pushed back hard Monday after President Donald Trump accused Democrats of playing “a very dangerous political game” by insisting there is a shortage of tests for coronavirus. The governors countered that the White House must do more to help states do the testing that's needed before they can ease up on stay-at-home orders.
Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif. 7th District), a doctor himself, added his voice to the chorus of experts on Monday, giving the commander-in-chief a C-minus.
Oil prices plunged below zero on Monday as demand for energy collapses amid the coronavirus pandemic and traders didn’t want to get stuck owning crude oil with nowhere to store it. A barrel of benchmark U.S. oil for May delivery fell to negative $3.70 per barrel.
Shake Shack, one of the chains that received money, said Monday it will return its loan to give smaller restaurants a chance to get government money. Congress and the White House are close to an agreement that would add $300 billion to the program.
Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told Cheddar Monday that the countries that drew the most concerns could take this opportunity to build better health systems going forward.
New York City won’t allow public events in June, including three of the city’s major annual celebrations: the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, the Celebrate Israel parade, and the Pride parade on its 50th anniversary.
