Senate passes $1.9 Trillion Covid relief bill

[mnorian]

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package Saturday, capping off a marathon overnight session after Democrats resolved internal clashes that threatened to derail President Joe Biden's top legislative priority.

The far-reaching legislation includes $1,400 stimulus checks, $300-per-week jobless benefits through the summer, a child allowance of up to $3,600 for one year, $350 billion for state aid, $34 billion to expand Affordable Care Act subsidies and $14 billion for vaccine distribution.


The final vote was 50-49 along party lines, with every Republican voting "no." It came after Democrats voted down a swath of Republican amendments on repeated votes of 50-49 to avoid disrupting the delicate agreement between progressive and moderate senators.

Senate passes $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, including $1,400 stimulus checks, with no Republican support

 

[Hank77]

 

[cow451]

Progressives were not ecstatic and the GOP wasn't happy, so it may be a good overall bill. Interesting that the last Democratic President began office inheriting a recession and this one inherited a pandemic.

 

[mnorian]

Progressives were not ecstatic and the GOP wasn't happy, so it may be a good overall bill. Interesting that the last Democratic President began office inheriting a recession and this one inherited a pandemic.

Then it was a true compromise; like a real republic!

What will they think of next?

Or is this going to be a onetime deal?

 

[Hank77]

Interesting that the last Democratic President began office inheriting a recession and this one inherited a pandemic.

And not just a pandemic but also an economy that in really bad shape. Hopefully, this bill can turn things around quickly, within a year, rather than two or three down the road.

 

[rambot]

I'm hoping to hear who isn't worthy of help.

You know, some specific examples.

I see 2.3% listed as other. I supposed that must be the problem?

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Progressives were not ecstatic and the GOP wasn't happy, so it may be a good overall bill. Interesting that the last Democratic President began office inheriting a recession and this one inherited a pandemic.

That was my initial gut reaction...however, in looking at the reason why both sides weren't happy with it, I don't know if I feel that same way anymore.

The direct payment provision changes I found interesting...

The Senate's changes to the House-passed version of the plan include reducing the jobless benefits to $300 (from $400 in the House bill) and extending them slightly to Sept. 6. The Senate limited eligibility for the $1,400 checks by capping the payments for those who make $80,000, or $160,000 for couples.

Seems like they should have left it at the previous levels and phased it out at $100k instead of $80k. After all that arguing, walking away with a bill that still spends the same amount, but excludes a significant number of people from the 3rd round of stimulus.

If it were me, I would've kept the thresholds the same (for the record, I don't have any skin in the game on that, I wasn't eligible for the first two either), and more closely looked at the line item for "Re-open schools and higher education" to see what that line item entailed. It may be all very meaningful stuff under that line item and all worth keeping. But just from the personal Ohio experience, I'd make sure those schools were committed to actually reopening in order for them to receive those funds.

Ohio got burned by that in a couple of the state's largest school districts. Mike DeWine agreed to additional funding demands, and prioritizing all of their staff for vaccines with the agreement that in-person learning would resume by March 1st, only for them to turn around (after they got what they wanted and got vaccinated) and say "Nah, we're going to keep the hybrid model for a while"

 

[Hank77]

See how much money your state/county will receive. The allocation is based on unemployment for the last quarter of 2020.
How much money each state would receive if Biden stimulus bill passes

 

[ThatRobGuy]

See how much money your state/county will receive. The allocation is based on unemployment for the last quarter of 2020.
How much money each state would receive if Biden stimulus bill passes

Yeah, the unemployment aspect of this is an interesting one...

Basically, the states that made the decision to do cautious re-opening (thus reducing their own numbers of unemployment) are basically going to get penalized, while states that locked things down as tight as possible (some of which, didn't have results that were any better than the more lax states) are going to receive more.

I foresee that being a major sticking point among many governors.

Mike DeWine voiced some displeasure with that...because Ohio's being denied close to a billion dollars in funding due to the fact that we lowered our unemployment over the last 4-6 months by doing a cautious reopening.

There was a good article about it in the Columbus Dispatch, but it's unfortunately behind a pay-wall now.

Some states (at great expense to themselves) used state revenues to give money to businesses to accommodate businesses being able to reopen in a safe manner to get people back to work. Those states are now being cut out of federal relief due to having, now, lower unemployment rates than states who opted to keep things tightly locked down due to previously poor mismanaged budgets that didn't allow them to do the same.


An analogy:

Two brothers, Billy and Timmy, both had $100 from last year's Christmas money (grandma hooked them up). Billy decides he's going to save $80 of it, Timmy goes out and blows the $100 on video games and candy.

Next Christmas grandma says "This years gift will be giving each of you enough money to bring your balance back up to $100", so Timmy gets $100, Billy only gets $20.

Billy has a right to be a little "miffed" at that arrangement, even more so if Billy spent more of his time helping grandma around the house than Timmy did, and Timmy broke a lot of grandma's dishes, and then lied about how many dishes he broke.

In this analogy Billy is Mike DeWine, Timmy is Cuomo/Witmer.

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

It sounds like an impossible amount of money. I would say that I hope they have a sensible plan for raising that money, but they never do.

 

[loveofourlord]

It sounds like an impossible amount of money. I would say that I hope they have a sensible plan for raising that money, but they never do.

*laughs* as opposed to the right that instead of raising money give it away like it's candy to the ultra rich? Least here there is a reason for the money.

 

[Erik Nelson]

I'm hoping to hear who isn't worthy of help.

You know, some specific examples.

I see 2.3% listed as other. I supposed that must be the problem?

Stimulus relief still seems biased by partisanship. Typically pro-Trump white farmers receive significantly less aid than non-whites, representing a form of reparations:

Terrell: Covid Relief Bill Discriminates Against White Farmers

 

[rambot]

Stimulus relief still seems biased by partisanship. Typically pro-Trump white farmers receive significantly less aid than non-whites, representing a form of reparations:

Terrell: Covid Relief Bill Discriminates Against White Farmers

We had a whole talk about this. Under trumps stimulus minority farmers were pushed to the back. Nvm that trumps bill was also plenty bipartisan

 

[Ringo84]

Whining about "partisanship" and the fact that minority farmers might have come out worse during this pandemic than white ones.

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