We have another Infrastructure Week on the schedule and if you had "the filibuster isn't racist" on your 2021 BINGO card, you win a prize. Here's more about what is and isn't expected in the Washington Week Ahead.
(ANOTHER) INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK: The proverbial joke in Washington is actually, really happening in Pittsburgh on Wednesday when President Joe Biden takes to the stage to pitch his infrastructure plan. The White House has downplayed leaks so far, but we can expect that he'll try to sell the American people on $3-4 trillion in federal spending on "hard infrastructure" like planes, trains, and automobiles and "soft infrastructure" like free community college and universal Pre-K. The bill will not garner much Republican support and Democrats are planning to move forward with another budget reconciliation proposal.
CRICKETS ON CAPITOL HILL: The week of Spring Recess and all through the House, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The Senate gaveled out of its chamber with care in hopes that legislative business would all disappear.
Yes, I did write a poem about next week in Washington. But it pretty much sums up where things are: Congress is in recess for two weeks and that means exactly nothing will be happening on the legislative front. Don't expect much from the president either. He's clearly in no rush to do anything on gun control or immigration, saying "timing is everything." In other words, not now.
BESSEMER UNION BATTLE: The vote on whether to unionize the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama wraps up on Monday, just days before Biden heads north to the union town of Pittsburgh to pitch the country on tons of good, union jobs as part of his infrastructure plan. But the union fight is already here and it's happening in a state that is historically anti-union. Whether or not Amazon's warehouse does unionize or not, the conversation about union jobs and unions, in general, is going to be an ongoing one, especially as the Democratic Senate will likely force a vote on the pro-union PRO Act despite having no Republican support — if they can get the votes in their own party.
The two-week COP26 climate conference has now ended with leaders reaching a deal, but so far the deal is getting mixed reviews from climate experts across the globe. Chloe Demrovsky, president and CEO of Disaster Recovery Institute International, explains that while the agreement is a step forward in some ways, the world still has much more to work on in order to keep warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.
Jill and Carlo cover the latest with the infrastructure bill, the growing state rebellion over boosters, Trump's dereliction of duty on the pandemic, Taylor Swift's reign of cultural domination and more.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse joined Cheddar to discuss the latest push to get rid of Daylight Savings Time. A practice where several say can cause havoc on one's sleeping schedule and cause disruptions to our economy.
The past decade or so has been a has seen massive change-- usually good-- for the LGBTQ+ community. Same-sex marriage has seen broader acceptance, and there's been increased conversation about the reality of gender identity. Now, folks who don't identify as male or female can travel while staying true to their more authentic self.
The Biden administration has issued the first passport with a gender-neutral designation "X." the passport was issued to Dana Zzyym, an intersex activist from Colorado, after a long legal battle with the state department in which Zzyym argued they shouldn't be required to lie about their identity on their passport. Advocates for such changes have applauded the move, saying it will allow people who don't identify as male or female to travel the globe in a more safe and visible way.
Paul Castillo, counsel at Lambda Legal and Zzyym's attorney in this case, joins None of the Above to discuss.
The Biden Administration has announced its latest plans to support veterans who had been exposed to toxic chemicals from burn pits. According to several veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, a number of them were exposed to hour-long periods of burn pits. As a result, many of them say they have suffered from severe life-long side effects. Co-founder at Burn Pits 360 Le Roy Torres, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Ballots have been sent to workers at three different Starbucks locations in Buffalo, NY to decide whether they will unionize for the first time ever. Wilma Liebman, former Chair of the National Labor Relations Board and Michelle Eisen from the Starbucks Workers United Organization, which is behind this vote, joined Cheddar to discuss.
The parent company of North Face, Vans and Supreme, VF Corp, released its fourth annual "Made for Change" sustainability and responsibility report. It details the company's ongoing efforts to tackle social and climate related issues. This comes as climate experts continue to warn about the dangers of fast fashion and its impact on global CO2 emissions. Sean Cady, Vice President of Global Sustainability, Responsibility and Trade at VF Corporation, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
A jam-packed Freitag pod with Carlo and Baker: new Covid hotspots, Kyle Rittenhouse trial, Belarus making trouble for Europe, red-hot housing market, and how to manage a PR crisis the right way.
Damian Mason, a farm owner, Agricultural Economist and Author of 'Food Fear,' joined Cheddar to discuss the rising prices of food as we approach the holiday season.
