Crooked Media - What A Day: Budget crunch

Friday, February 5, 2021
BY SARAH LAZARUS & CROOKED MEDIA

-Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is not mad, and who is laughing, actually

Democrats have set the stage to pass President Biden’s coronavirus relief package without waiting around for Republicans to not vote for it anyway, in a very exciting illustration of what can happen when Democrats a) win elections and b) decide to act like it. 
 

  • The House has approved the budget roadmap that will allow Congress to pass Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package through the reconciliation process—that is, without the need for bipartisan support. The Senate passed the same measure early on Friday morning by a 51-50 vote margin, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. The budget plan directs committees to start turning the stimulus proposal into actual legislation, which needs to be passed by mid-March at the very latest, when millions of Americans would otherwise start losing their federal unemployment benefits.
     
  • The outline approved by both chambers still mostly looks like Biden’s original proposal, with a couple of potential changes. After Biden suggested he was open to further targeting the $1,400 stimulus checks (which were already limited to individuals making under $75,000 a year), the latest Democratic plan under discussion would only send checks to Americans who made under $50,000 in either 2019 or 2020 (still TBD). It would be extra insane to deny anyone a check based on their 2019 income as if a full year of pandemic chaos hadn’t swept through in between, but either way, $50,000 a year isn’t exactly Scrooge McDuck territory. That plan could change, and there’s still time to tell your reps if you think they should worry more about getting help to people in need than the specter of The Wrong People getting a little extra cash to put back into the economy. (202) 224-3121.
     
  • The Senate also agreed to a GOP proposal to bar any increase of the federal minimum wage during the pandemic, though Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders has always proposed to raise the wage to $15 incrementally, and Sanders said that he would still push to get that increase included in the final reconciliation bill. Republican opposition aside, Senate Democrats will need to be in lockstep to get the bill passed, and at least one—America’s Sweetheart Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV)—has already said he won’t support a $15 minimum wage. Biden also said on Friday that he doesn't think the measure will make it into the aid package because of the Senate's reconciliation rules, but that he remains committed to negotiating a wage increase separately.

The biggest takeaway from Friday’s votes is that Joe Biden and congressional Democrats don’t plan to waste any time on further negotiations.
 

  • The Labor Department’s new jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added just 49,000 jobs in January, reflecting a “weak-ass rate of growth” (in economics terms) that Biden highlighted in laying out his argument to pass a big relief package quickly, without Republican support: “Are we going to say to millions of Americans who are out of work—many out of work for six months or longer, who have been scared by this economic and public health crisis—‘Don’t worry, hang on, things are going to get better?' That’s the Republican answer right now. I can’t in good conscience do that. Too many people in the nation have already suffered for too long.”
     
  • The White House Officials of Christmas Past have Biden’s back on this one. More than 200 members of the Obama administration (including a few of your friends from Crooked Media) signed an open letter urging Congress to learn from their mistakes and pass a big stimulus bill, bad-faith Republican criticism be damned: “The resistance we faced from deficit fearmongers seeking to water [the 2009 stimulus] down ate up valuable time and diluted the amount of aid that reached struggling families and small businesses. We know from history that they are wrong and sabotaging the ability of our nation to fully and equitably recover.” We also know from history that those same Republicans don’t give a shit about the deficit when they’re in power, so not only are they wrong, they’re pretending. In conclusion, make the money printer go brrrr.
     

Friday developments brought a major relief package one step closer to reality, and also drew an important boundary around Joe Biden’s pursuit of bipartisanship cooperation: It can’t come at the expense of the need in the country. As White House press secretary Jen Psaki said perfectly today, “He didn't run on a promise to unite the Democratic and Republican parties into one party.” (You listening, Jysten Smanchin?)

A new episode of Rubicon is out now! This week Brian Beutler talks to climate-science writer Emily Atkin about the predictable first steps President Biden has taken to fight climate change, and the exciting but under-the-radar ways that Biden has woven climate science into offices throughout his administration. New episodes are out every Friday, make sure to subscribe to Rubicon wherever you get your pods  

Early efforts to reduce jail populations during the pandemic have been reversed in a number of major cities. In some cities, including New York City, Chicago, Houston, and Miami, jail populations that declined briefly in early 2020 have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Many cities initially released thousands of people who were detained pretrial, but that didn’t amount to any kind of meaningful, long-term shift, and as officials allow jail populations to creep back up (mostly by refusing to release people detained pretrial, even if they pose no immediate danger), devastating coronavirus outbreaks have followed. In some cities, severe court slowdowns and failures to take preventative measures within jail systems have exacerbated the problem. As of February 2, more than 452,000 incarcerated people and prison staff across the country have contracted coronavirus, and nearly 2,400 have died.

New Israeli studies found that the country’s rapid vaccine rollout has dramatically driven down coronavirus cases. Israel has outpaced every other country in vaccinating its population, and rates of both infections and hospitalizations among people who were vaccinated (in this first study, people 60 years and older) fell quickly in just a few weeks. Researchers were able to isolate other factors that reduce the number of infections, including lockdowns, and concluded that even taking those factors into account, the vaccines had a significant impact. Early data also suggested that the vaccines are working nearly as well in the real world as they did in clinical trials. Those results won’t be a breeze to replicate, with contagious variants on the loose and vaccines still in short supply, and Israel itself is still under a nationwide lockdown, but it’s a heartening first glimpse of vaccinations beginning to curb the pandemic in practice.

Super Coffee is made to power your entire day with its unique combination of caffeine, healthy fats, and protein, that provide a sustained, jitter-free energy with no crash. 

Super Coffee is just as delicious as a Frappuccino but contains 0g sugar, 10g of protein, and only 80 calories per bottle. 

It’s also keto-friendly, lactose-free, and gluten-free! 

Super Coffee’s best seller is their bottled coffees, but they also make tasty canned espressos, coffee creamers, and ground coffee. 

We’ve worked out an exclusive deal for What A Day readers. Receive 25% off your entire first purchase. We recommend one of their best selling variety packs or bundles. This is a great way to try all of their delicious flavors. To claim this deal go to DRINKSUPERCOFFEE.com/CROOKED, or use code CROOKED at checkout. 

Super Coffee is also available nation-wide in over 25,000 stores like Target, Whole Foods, Walmart, Kroger, and CVS.

Coronavirus vaccines have already caused a drop in coronavirus case numbers in nursing homes across the U.S. 

Joe Biden has signed an executive order to increase the annual refugee admissions cap to 125,000 in the fiscal year that starts on October 1. 

A 120-member volunteer force has made its mission to help Florida seniors navigate the process of booking vaccine appointments. 

The NFL has offered up all of its stadiums as potential mass-vaccination sites.

. . . . . .


© Crooked Media 2021. All Rights Reserved. 
If you want to manage which emails you receive from Crooked Media, update your preferences here. If you prefer to opt out of all Crooked Media communications, you may unsubscribe.
Share this newsletter
7162 Beverly Blvd #212, Los Angeles, CA, 90036
Powered by Mailchimp
Twitter
Facebook
Link

Older messages

What A Day: Greene-House effect

Friday, February 5, 2021

There's a shortage of perfect tweets in the world. Thursday, February 4, 2021 BY SARAH LAZARUS & CROOKED MEDIA -Newsmax host Greg Kelly, a self-styled "MALE KAREN" The House has

What A Day: No Marjin of error

Thursday, February 4, 2021

A cornucopia of Republican delights. Wednesday, February 3, 2021 BY SARAH LAZARUS & CROOKED MEDIA -Tommy Tuberville, a man too wet to comment on Marjorie Taylor Greene As Republicans wrestle with

What A Day: Fail to the brief

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Can't prove it wasn't cats! Tuesday, February 2, 2021 BY SARAH LAZARUS & CROOKED MEDIA -Trump advisor Eric Herschmann, when the CEO of Overstock didn't know his name House Democrats and

What A Day: GOPs and robbers

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Fun sock president confirmed. Monday, February 1, 2021 BY SARAH LAZARUS & CROOKED MEDIA -Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV), saying he wants a big stimulus bill? Somehow? As the Biden administration and

What A Day: Greene dregs and spam

Saturday, January 30, 2021

Just let us see the Business Horns. Friday, January 29, 2021 BY SARAH LAZARUS & CROOKED MEDIA -Elaine Gill, mother of GameStop Redditor “DeepFuckingValue” The Republican Party appears to have

You Might Also Like

AI chatbots keep failing every accuracy test thrown at them

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

PLUS: Why Substack's new subscriber milestone is so significant ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Everything We’ve Written About That’s on Sale at Nordstrom

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Plus: Actually cute plus-size maternity clothes. The Strategist Every product is independently selected by editors. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission.

What A Day: Bad Car-ma

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Elon Musk's politics are sparking a major Tesla backlash, ironically thanks to Trump. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Rohingya refugees just lost half of their food aid. Now what?

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

An interview with Free Rohingya Coalition what happened last week in Asia, Africa and the Americas Hey, this is Sham Jaff, a freelance journalist focused on Asia, Africa and the Americas and your very

Shayne Coplan’s Big Bet Is Paying Off

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

March 11, 2025 THE MONEY GAME Shayne Coplan's Big Bet Is Paying Off By Jen Wieczner Photo: Dina Litovsky At 6 am on Wednesday, November 13, eight FBI agents in black windbreakers burst through the

We need your input.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Share your insights & receive a 70% off forever. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

We Talkin’ About Practice?

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Nobody Told Me There'd Be Days Like These ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Seattle startup takes eco-friendly aim at recycling clothing 

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Read AI rolls out enterprise search tool | Hard time for hardware ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: A limited number of table sponsorships are available at the 2025 GeekWire Awards: Secure your

☕ The beauty of it all

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

A conversation with Ulta Beauty's CMO. March 11, 2025 View Online | Sign Up Marketing Brew Presented By Iterable It's Tuesday. Count Kathy Hochul as an ad buyer. The governor of New York is

🤔 What’s in your wallet? A scam.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Plus, a new streaming deal is the latest gift to Trump from the billionaire CEO and his company — which profits off government contracts. Forward this email to others so they can sign up 🔥 Today on