Congress Working Overtime to Deliver New Round of Stimulus Checks
Biden Announces Climate Policy Team, Laying Out Key Initiatives to Combat Environmental Issues
Congress worked over the weekend on two major pieces of legislation. Both bills come to fruition late Monday as the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the government funding bill as well as the important COVID-19 stimulus package.
The Race to Finalize and Pass a New COVID-19 Stimulus Package: A significant breakthrough in negotiations late Saturday night led to the US House of Representatives passing a COVID-19 stimulus package at nearly midnight on Monday. The $900 billion relief package then went to the Senate for the final vote.
Read More »In addition, the bill extends the federal eviction moratorium through the end of January. This was a key provision of the bill, as many officials had feared what would happen when this moratorium expired without further assistance already put in place.
What many Americans are looking toward is the anticipated $600 personal stimulus checks for individuals. Adults making up to $75,000 per year will receive the full funding. The money will phase out completely for those making $99,000. Couples filing jointly will be eligible for the full amount up to an income of $150,000.
Congress Up Against the Wall to Pass Government Funding Bill: At the same time that the House passed the pandemic relief package, it also passed a massive piece of legislation to keep the government up and running. The $1.4 trillion package will fund government operations through September 30.
Congress also needed to pass a seven-day stopgap spending bill to keep everything functioning until the legislation can reach the president’s desk for final approval. Lawmakers had been trying to package this with the COVID-19 stimulus package in one massive piece of legislation.
Congressional leaders were anxious to pass both bills and break for the holidays. Some lawmakers have already left town for the recess.
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White House Attempts to Explain Vaccine Delay: The White House Operation Warp Speed team came under fire at the end of last week as numerous states were informed that their expected Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shipments had been delayed or reduced. Operation Warp Speed chief scientific adviser Moncef Slaoui said on Sunday that an unexpected lag period of two days contributed to the delay.
Slaoui said in a television interview that the delay has been addressed and that the White House has increased communication protocols with state governors so that all parties are kept up to date. All across the nation, various state leaders called out the federal government for its inability to distribute the vaccine effectively and efficiently. Many states were told late last week that their vaccine allotment may be cut by as much as 40% in the coming weeks, disrupting the distribution plans that many officials had already put in place.
Biden Announces Climate Change Team: Keeping with his campaign promise to make fighting climate change a central tenet of his administration, President-elect Joe Biden unveiled the primary members of his environmental team on Saturday. Biden announced the team at a news conference at his transition team headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware. At the event, Biden promised that his team would be ready to take on the challenge on day one.
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Included in the list of nominations are New Mexico Representative Deb Haaland to head up the Department of the Interior, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as Department of Energy secretary, and Michael Regan for the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. The newly created White House Office of Climate Policy will be led by Gina McCarthy.
Also during the event, Biden unveiled some key initiatives of his climate policy plan. The incoming president said that he wants to roll out 500,000 new electric vehicle charging stations, build 1.5 million energy-efficient homes and public housing structures, and restore the environmental regulations that were cut during the Trump administration. Biden also called for the addition of a civilian climate corps to carry through these bold projects.
Romney Addresses Russian Cyberattack: Sen. Mitt Romney took to the airwaves on Sunday to address the Russian cyberattack on multiple federal agencies. Romney was clear in his message that President Donald Trump has a “blind spot” when it comes to all matters relating to Russia. Ever since the news of the cyberattack broke last week, Trump has continued to downplay the severity of the security compromise.
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Romney said that the attack was a wake-up call for the nation, necessitating that officials examine issues of national security and the military. The Republican from Utah also said that cyberattacks are the future in warfare. Romney said the country should react strongly to the attack and not try to push it aside.
While the details are still emerging, there have been at least six confirmed agencies targeted with the cybersecurity breach. Included in this list of targets is the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, and the Department of State. It is not yet known what government data has been compromised as a result of the breach.
Obama Shares 2020 Playlist: In lighter news, former President Barack Obama has shared his much-anticipated 2020 music playlist. Obama has cultivated a near-cult following of his yearly list of favorite songs. The self-described music guru took to social media on Saturday to share his list, giving credit to his daughter Sasha for helping him to narrow down his choices.
As usual, Obama’s playlist encompasses a wide variety of musical genres. A few of the highlights include “Savage (Remix)” by Meghan The Stallion and Beyonce, “The Climb Back” by J. Cole, “Starting Over” by Chris Stapleton, “La Dificil” by Bad Bunny, “Levitating” by Dua Lipa and DaBaby, and “Ghosts” by Bruce Springsteen.
Congress has been working over the weekend on two major pieces of legislation. At hand is both the government funding bill as well as the important COVID-19 stimulus package.
The Race to Finalize and Pass a New COVID-19 Stimulus Package: A significant breakthrough in negotiations late Saturday night has sent a ripple of hope through the halls of Congress in the neverending quest to pass a COVID-19 stimulus package. According to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Congress was getting close to passing the $900 billion relief deal.
While the exact wording of the bill has not been released, it has been confirmed that the package will deliver $300 per week in unemployment benefits, $80 billion for schools to instill proper safety protocols, and $330 billion for struggling small businesses. There has also been a significant amount of funding set aside for vaccine distribution.
What many Americans are looking toward is the anticipated $600 personal stimulus checks for individuals. Adults making up to $75,000 per year will receive the full funding. The money will phase out completely for those making $99,000.
Congress Up Against the Wall to Pass Government Funding Bill: The government funding deadline is once again quickly approaching. The current stopgap measure expires at midnight on Sunday. While some lawmakers remain hopeful that Congress will work out their differences and come to an agreement, others do not share that optimism. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said early Sunday that they are just hours away from coming to an agreement. Schumer echoed this sentiment, indicating that the legislation may be voted on as early as Sunday evening.
However, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas did not share that optimism, telling reporters that he thought it was doubtful that the Senate will pass both the government funding bill and the stimulus package. The first order of business is to push through the $1.4 trillion omnibus government spending bill. This legislation is needed to fund the government through September of 2021. Lawmakers are trying to package this with the COVID-19 stimulus package in one massive piece of legislation.
Congressional leaders are getting anxious to pass both bills and break for the holidays. Some lawmakers have already left town for the recess.
White House Attempts to Explain Vaccine Delay: The White House Operation Warp Speed team came under fire at the end of last week as numerous states were informed that their expected Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine shipments had been delayed or reduced. Operation Warp Speed chief scientific adviser Moncef Slaoui said on Sunday that an unexpected lag period of two days contributed to the delay.
Slaoui said in a television interview that the delay has been addressed and that the White House has increased communication protocols with state governors so that all parties are kept up to date. All across the nation, various state leaders called out the federal government for its inability to distribute the vaccine effectively and efficiently. Many states were told late last week that their vaccine allotment may be cut by as much as 40% in the coming weeks, disrupting the distribution plans that many officials had already put in place.
Biden Announces Climate Change Team: Keeping with his campaign promise to make fighting climate change a central tenet of his administration, President-elect Joe Biden unveiled the primary members of his environmental team on Saturday. Biden announced the team at a news conference at his transition team headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware. At the event, Biden promised that his team would be ready to take on the challenge on day one.
Included in the list of nominations are New Mexico Representative Deb Haaland to head up the Department of the Interior, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as Department of Energy secretary, and Michael Regan for the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. The newly created White House Office of Climate Policy will be led by Gina McCarthy.
Also during the event, Biden unveiled some key initiatives of his climate policy plan. The incoming president said that he wants to roll out 500,000 new electric vehicle charging stations, build 1.5 million energy-efficient homes and public housing structures, and restore the environmental regulations that were cut during the Trump administration. Biden also called for the addition of a civilian climate corps to carry through these bold projects.
Romney Addresses Russian Cyberattack: Sen. Mitt Romney took to the airwaves on Sunday to address the Russian cyberattack on multiple federal agencies. Romney was clear in his message that President Donald Trump has a “blind spot” when it comes to all matters relating to Russia. Ever since the news of the cyberattack broke last week, Trump has continued to downplay the severity of the security compromise.
Romney said that the attack was a wake-up call for the nation, necessitating that officials examine issues of national security and the military. The Republican from Utah also said that cyberattacks are the future in warfare. Romney said the country should react strongly to the attack and not try to push it aside.
While the details are still emerging, there have been at least six confirmed agencies targeted with the cybersecurity breach. Included in this list of targets is the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, and the Department of State. It is not yet known what government data has been compromised as a result of the breach.
Obama Shares 2020 Playlist: In lighter news, former President Barack Obama has shared his much-anticipated 2020 music playlist. Obama has cultivated a near-cult following of his yearly list of favorite songs. The self-described music guru took to social media on Saturday to share his list, giving credit to his daughter Sasha for helping him to narrow down his choices.
As usual, Obama’s playlist encompasses a wide variety of musical genres. A few of the highlights include “Savage (Remix)” by Meghan The Stallion and Beyonce, “The Climb Back” by J. Cole, “Starting Over” by Chris Stapleton, “La Dificil” by Bad Bunny, “Levitating” by Dua Lipa and DaBaby, and “Ghosts” by Bruce Springsteen.
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