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.
President Biden and Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell meet at the White House today for the first time since Powell's renomination to the position. The President and the Fed Chair discussed the economy and historically high inflation, as new data shows inflation may be cooling slightly. Morning Consult economic analyst Jesse Wheeler joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss how the Biden administration at the U.S. central bank can work together to combat soaring prices for American consumers.
In the second part of Cheddar's talk with Governor Asa Hutchinson, the Republican from Arkansas discussed his state's abortion trigger law and the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Texas law that would prevent social media platform moderation currently being held up by the U.S. Supreme Court, and rumors of his 2024 presidential run. "I did go to New Hampshire. I am testing the waters out there, so no decision at this point. But we're looking at it," he said, noting that if former President Donald Trump runs, it would not affect his own decision.
Cheddar Politics looks at the ongoing efforts to pass meaningful gun safety laws in both Chambers of Congress following multiple mass shootings. Lisa Hagen, senior political reporter for U.S. News and World Report, helps break down why Senators are hopeful that a modest bipartisan gun safety package might be able to overcome a filibuster.
Join Cheddar News as we break down the top headlines this morning including updates on the Tulsa medical center shooting, Johnny Depp V. Amber Heard verdict, and Democrats push for gun control reform.
After two subway shootings in two months and the more recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, Mayor Eric Adams is calling for gun detection scanners to be installed in New York City subways. The tech would be similar to that used in sporting arenas, however, experts note multiple difficulties with such a setup including the need for nearby human operators.
Catching you up on what you need to know on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, House lawmakers hold an emergency hearing on gun control measures in the wake of the Uvalde shooting, the Supreme Court temporarily blocks Texas' law stopping social media moderation, and the James Webb Space Telescope gets a new mission.
With the baby formula in the United States surging to an out-of-stock rate of 70 percent, the FDA has given Abbott permission to reopen its Michigan plant amid the crisis and authorized foreign imports. Professor Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner and current president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ongoing shortage and its wide impact. “As difficult as things is in urban areas, they’re even worse in small communities and tribal areas where parents can't just go to the next store on the corner," he said. Pitts also noted that the Abbott factory was a "disaster" prior to its shutdown and that it would have been "regulatory malpractice" to have left it open.
Cheddar's Megan Pratz reports from the ground in Uvalde, Texas where the community's grief and frustration with lawmakers and police officers grows as more details emerge.
