Indigenous groups are putting pressure on senators with billboards posted in multiple states urging them to confirm Rep. Deb Haaland Deb Haaland OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden returns to Obama-era greenhouse gas calculation | House passes major public lands package | Biden administration won't defend Trump-era relaxation of bird protections Indigenous groups post billboards urging senators to confirm Deb Haaland The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by The AIDS Institute - Senate ref axes minimum wage, House votes today on relief bill MORE (D-N.M.) to lead the Interior Department. The billboards have gone up in West Virginia, Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota, home of Sens. Joe Manchin Joseph (Joe) Manchin House Democrats pass sweeping .9T COVID-19 relief bill with minimum wage hike Democrats scramble to rescue minimum wage hike White House noncommittal on 'Plan B' push to add wage increase to relief bill MORE (D), John Barrasso John … [Read more...] about Indigenous groups post billboards urging senators to confirm Deb Haaland
Joe manchin
White House noncommittal on ‘Plan B’ push to add wage increase to relief bill
The White House was noncommittal Friday in its response to a plan from leading Senate Democrats that would include an alternative approach to raising the minimum wage in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill making its way through Congress. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden Ronald (Ron) Lee Wyden House Democrats pass sweeping .9T COVID-19 relief bill with minimum wage hike House set for tight vote on COVID-19 relief package On The Money: Democrats scramble to save minimum wage hike | Personal incomes rise, inflation stays low after stimulus burst MORE (D-Ore.) and Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders Bernie Sanders House Democrats pass sweeping .9T COVID-19 relief bill with minimum wage hike House set for tight vote on COVID-19 relief package On The Money: Democrats scramble to save minimum wage hike | Personal incomes rise, inflation stays low after stimulus burst MORE (I-Vt.) on Friday floated a " Plan B " to impose a … [Read more...] about White House noncommittal on ‘Plan B’ push to add wage increase to relief bill
House Votes To Pass $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Package
The U.S. House of Representatives voted early Saturday morning to pass a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan forwarded by Democrats and the Biden administration. The American Rescue Plan was passed by a 219-212 vote, with two Democrats voting against and no Republicans voting in favor. Key provisions of the proposal include $1,400 relief checks for Americans and $350 billion for state, local, and tribal government budgets. A $1.9 trillion package aimed at helping the country rebuild from the pandemic seemed headed toward House passage Friday, even as Democrats searched for a way to revive their derailed drive to boost the minimum wage. https://t.co/1G4Wmks250 — AP Politics (@AP_Politics) February 26, 2021 The relief package also features an expanded child tax credit and $130 billion to help K-12 schools reopen. While many schools across the country have already reopened in some capacity, the Biden administration has butted heads at times with teachers’ unions which … [Read more...] about House Votes To Pass $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Package
Politics, not racism or sexism, explain opposition to Biden Cabinet nominees
Several of President Biden ’s Cabinet nominees are experiencing tough confirmation hearings in the Senate. Many Republicans and even some Democrats have voiced opposition to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pick Neera Tanden , and nominees such as Deb Haaland for secretary of the Interior and Xavier Becerra for secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) will most likely be approved by slim partisan margins. These are qualified individuals, and depending on one’s politics, the opposition to their nominations is regrettable. But even more regrettable is the assumption that such opposition is based in racism or sexism, as some Democrats and activist groups have maintained. Regardless of whether one supports the nominees or not, their nominations have been controversial from the start for lawmakers in both parties for reasons rooted in politics and policy positions. Labelling any critique or questioning of these individuals as examples of racial or gender bias makes it … [Read more...] about Politics, not racism or sexism, explain opposition to Biden Cabinet nominees
Republican West Virginia Governor Jim Justice Says ‘Go Big Or Go Home’ On Stimulus
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said Friday that Congress should “go big or go home” on the federal pandemic stimulus package, breaking with opposition to the plan from within his own party. “We have tried to underspend and undersize what was really needed to get over the top of the mountain,” he told reporters at his coronavirus briefing. “You got a lot of people across this nation who are really hurting.” House Democrats are poised to get through their $1.9 trillion package aimed at helping individuals, businesses, states and cities. The fate of a provision to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 is uncertain in the Senate, where its nonpartisan parliamentarian said Thursday that the chamber’s rules require that a federal minimum wage increase would have to be dropped from the COVID-19 bill. Justice, who won office in 2016 as a Democrat before switching parties, has surprised some by backing President Joe Biden’s proposal. He said “an awful … [Read more...] about Republican West Virginia Governor Jim Justice Says ‘Go Big Or Go Home’ On Stimulus