Despite the Senate quickly removing the controversial $15 federal minimum wage hike passed in the House version of the latest COVID stimulus bill, Republican lawmakers are still speaking out against other items included in the plan as Senate Democrats rush to finalize their version of the bill.
For Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla. 3rd District), the price tag, which includes checks for qualified Americans, is too high.
"As far as the stimulus, that is a temporary solution and, again, it just adds to the further debt that our nation is in. For us, as millennials, this is killer because this is on our shoulders. The generations before us, they're not going to have to deal with these problems of sequestration," she told Cheddar. "It's millennials and Gen Zs that are really footing the bill for this."
At 33 years old, Cammack is currently one of the youngest members serving in the House.
In a letter to President Joe Biden, Cammack said approving another trillion-dollar spending bill would be irresponsible, in part, because funds from previous relief bills still have not been allocated.
The cost of the COVID relief bill was not the only concern for Cammack, however. The Florida congresswoman described other measures in the bill as a "wish list of projects" that Democrats are trying to push through.
"It has nothing to do with rescuing America from this pandemic. It had nothing to do with COVID relief," she alleged. Cammack stressed the need to get vaccines for Americans interested in receiving it and reopening schools.
"What does an underground tunnel in Silicon Valley have to do with COVID relief? What does a bridge in New York have to do with COVID relief? This was just some of the garbage that was tucked into this bill," she protested.
While a new poll from Morning Consult and Politico showed more than 70 percent of voters -- including more than half of GOP voters -- support the bill as it stands, Cammack said her party isn't worried about efforts to strike down the relief plan backfiring.
"The previous bills in 2020 under President Trump were all bipartisan. There was Republican and Democrat support. In this bill that Nancy Pelosi just pushed through last week — actually at 2:30 in the morning — that not only had every single Republican vote against it but members of her own caucus," she said.
Today is Veterans Day, a day each year that gives us a chance to honor our service members and reflect on the issues they face in our armed forces. One issue that's gotten a lot of scrutiny recently is the handling of sexual assault cases in the military. The military has long been criticized for how it handles cases of sexual assault, with particular attention paid to how cases are investigated and prosecuted usually within the chain of command. The defense department has said sexual assault cases will be removed, but it's not the same as Congress changing the law itself.
Lory Manning, retired U.S. Navy captain and the director of government operations at the Service Women's Action Network, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Greenwood, a digital banking platform aimed at supporting Black and Latino businesses and clients, is launching its very own GreenBook. Named after the historic publication for Black travelers during the era of Jim Crow, the online guide will provide a directory of Black- and Latino-owned businesses across the country. Ryan Glover, the founder and chairman of Greenwood, joined Cheddar to provide additional details about the listings.
President Biden's infrastructure plan will be pumping billions of dollars into the EV sector. David Shepardson, Correspondent at Thomson Reuters, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to break down all of the details.
Al Root, Senior Writer at Barron's, joined Wake Up With Cheddar's Jill Wagner to break down who qualifies for the proposed EV tax credits and why some automakers aren't too pleased about extra incentives for vehicles made at union plants.
Jill Wagner is joined by Baker to talk about kids and vaccines: we finally know how many young kids are getting vaccinated. Plus, Democrats are working on a Plan B for paid family leave. And the salad chain Sweetgreen goes public.
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President Joe Biden is expected to visit GM's 'Factory Zero' plant in Detroit, where mass production of its electric vehicle fleet will get underway. Biden is likely to tout his recently passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan, which allocates $7.5 billion toward EV infrastructure.
Jill is joined by “Friend of the Pod” Mosheh Oinounou to talk booster shots, and whether “fully vaccinated” will eventually mean three shots, not two. Plus, the latest on the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. And the research is in: we know now the perfect way to hug. Also, Jill and Mosheh debate whether Airpods are passé.
A deal was reached as the COP26 Summit in Glasgow came to a close. Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, Chief Scientist at the Nature Conservancy and Author of 'Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World,' joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the deal.
