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President Biden will unveil the first piece of his Build Back Better agenda on Wednesday, setting up a big dilemma for Democrats in Congress over infrastructure and climate change: Go big, or recognize the frailty of their current trifecta, and go even bigger?
- Biden’s $2.25 trillion proposal, the first of two packages, is an absolute unit. It includes approximately $650 billion to rebuild the country’s physical infrastructure, $400 billion toward home care for the elderly and disabled, $300 billion for housing infrastructure, and $300 billion to boost U.S. manufacturing—plus major investments in the electric grid, high-speed broadband, and clean drinking water.
- Much of that proposal would be paid for with corporate tax increases, by reversing the bulk of Donald Trump’s 2017 tax law. The second half of the Build Back Better plan, which will include things like expanded health coverage, paid family and medical leave, and universal pre-K, would be funded by taxing rich people. That move has the practical benefit of helping to reduce income inequality, and the political benefit of preempting criticism from Republicans who started fake-howling about federal deficits again the moment they lost power.
- Splitting the plan into those two chunks might hint at a plan for getting it all passed: Unless Democrats can get Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) & Co. on board with filibuster reform in the very near future, passing an infrastructure agenda will require either a) attracting votes from Republicans who are already furious about potential tax hikes, or b) getting creative with the budget-reconciliation process. Majorities have generally used that process at most once or twice a year, if at all. Democrats believe the rules may allow them to use it three or more times. If Democrats can convince the Senate parliamentarian that their read of the rules is correct—or find the guts to override her—they may have the flexibility they need to enact Biden’s entire fiscal agenda in piecemeal, filibuster-proof bills.
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Democrats will need to be completely united no matter which legislative route they take, but potential divisions have already begun to surface.
- Some moderate Democrats (though thankfully not Joe Manchin) think the infrastructure plan should be whittled down to win GOP support, and usher in the golden era of Bipartisan Unity and Cooperation that surely awaits if Democrats run and kick at the football just once more. Possibly a bigger problem: A growing number of House moderates have threatened to withhold support unless the change to the tax code repeals the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction, a reform that would primarily benefit wealthy people in blue states.
- Meanwhile, some progressives are pushing for an even larger package. On Monday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) introduced a climate and infrastructure proposal that calls for $10 trillion in spending over the next decade, arguing that Biden’s forthcoming plan is an inadequate response to the climate emergency. That plan would also create more 15.5 million jobs per year, according to an analysis by the Political Economy Research Institute.
Biden’s infrastructure plan as it stands would constitute a historic, legacy-defining set of reforms, and happily, both he and Democratic leaders have learned the Obama-era lesson that there’s nothing to be gained by watering it down for GOP votes that will never materialize. Now all they need is 50 votes and a little less reverence for the Senate rules.
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On the latest episode of Takeline, hosts Jason Concepcion and Renee Montgomery talk all things Elite Eight with Tate Frazier. Then, sports journalist Taylor Rooks stops by to give them the scoop on what it was like to cover the NBA *inside* the bubble. Give it a listen and subscribe to Takeline on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts →
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Unions and advocacy groups have been scrambling to convince immigrant workers to get vaccinated, after Donald Trump’s public-charge rule scared them away from health-care services. That rule allowed officials to deny visas and green cards to immigrants who accessed public benefits. The Biden administration has stressed the point that anyone can receive the vaccine regardless of immigration status, but four years of anti-immigration policies have understandably left people rattled. Organizations in industries with large immigrant populations have launched their own information campaigns, and some are lobbying state and local governments to better facilitate vaccinations for immigrant workers, by prioritizing access and accepting a wider range of documents to demonstrate eligibility. On the larger vaccine hesitancy front, things are looking up: A Census/CDC survey found that about 17 percent of adults say they probably or definitely won’t get vaccinated, down from 22 percent in January.
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- President Biden has announced new measures to respond to anti-Asian violence and advance equity for AAPI communities, including a COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force committee aimed at addressing anti-Asian xenophobia, funding for programs that help AAPI survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and a Justice Department initiative to respond to anti-Asian violence.
- Meanwhile, that wave of violence continues: A 65-year-old Asian woman walking in Manhattan was brutally assaulted on Monday, as a security guard feet away watched impassively. The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the attack, which was captured on security footage.
- Darnella Frazier, the teenage witness who filmed the video of George Floyd’s arrest, gave emotional testimony at Derek Chauvin’s trial on Tuesday: “It’s been nights I stayed up apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life. But it’s like, it’s not what I should have done, it’s what [Chauvin] should have done.”
- Civil-rights groups have slapped Georgia’s new voter-suppression law with a third federal lawsuit.
- The Justice Department is investigating Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) over a possible sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, as part of a larger sex-trafficking investigation into his political ally Joel Greenberg. Gaetz denied a sexual relationship with anyone underage, said he’s being smeared by a former DOJ official, and offered this very normal quote: “I have a suspicion that someone is trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward.”
- In a development that we trust is completely unrelated, Gaetz is considering leaving Congress early for a job at Newsmax. Kayleigh McEnany also just got promoted to co-host of Fox News’s Outnumbered, so the right-wing media’s transformation from “GOP mouthpiece” to “GOP assignment editor” is nearing completion.
- Utah has passed a law blocking porn on cell phones, which sure seems like a big honking First Amendment violation, and which Utah won’t even try to implement unless five other states pass similar laws.
- A mafia suspect got caught in the Carribean after he posted cooking videos on YouTube and forgot to hide his tattoos. It's times like these that you realize we've failed to prepare for an "opposite of a chef's kiss" situation, gesturally.
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A WHO report said it was “extremely unlikely” that coronavirus originated from a lab leak, but a number of world leaders have some follow-up questions. The report found that the virus most likely spread from bats to humans via a third animal, but recommended more research on all possibilities—except the lab leak hypothesis, which the Trump administration promoted vigorously. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that the probe hadn’t adequately analyzed the possibility of a lab accident, and a dozen countries, including the U.S., released a joint statement saying the report “lacked access to complete, original data and samples.” It’s not exactly clear how a lab leak would reflect any worse on the Chinese government than lax food safety rules, assuming a wet market was the vector—the truth would be interesting to know, and investigators should seek it out scientifically, but it seems unlikely to change the larger story of the pandemic as we understand it.
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The War on Drugs has failed. That's clear. Yet hundreds of thousands of people are still arrested each year for marijuana possession, disproportionately Black and Latinx people.
In fact, a Black person in America is 3.6x more likely to get arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, despite similar usage rates. The ACLU is fighting not only legalize marijuana, but do so in a way that addresses these harmful disparities once and for all. Add your name today if you agree.
Our nation is ready to put an end to the destructive and racist policies of the War on Drugs. Critical legislation in Congress could have a huge impact on making that happen: The House has passed the MORE Act and now it moves to the Senate. Sign our petition and demand that the Senate pass the MORE Act as soon as possible. Take action with the ACLU today and make your voice heard.
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President Biden has announced his first 11 judicial nominees, a diverse group that includes three Black women for appeals court vacancies.
A growing body of evidence suggests that coronavirus vaccines are safe for pregnant people—and may even confer protection to the baby.
The Maryland legislature has passed a bill that would end life sentences without the possibility of parole for minors.
The Kentucky legislature (!) has passed a bipartisan election bill that will make early voting a regular feature of the state's election.
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