News Article: Where the stimulus bill stands in Congress, and what comes next

Bazza

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Was curious about the status of the bill and ran across this article from CNN.

A few quotes from the article germain to the question of when the folks can expect checks going out......

(CNN)The major order of business for President Joe Biden and Congress is to pass a $1.9 trillion Covid relief package before the round of unemployment benefits and other aid approved in December lapse, again leaving millions of Americans short of help.
Is there a deadline for this thing to pass?
Sort of. Current expanded unemployment benefits run out March 14. That's the date by which Democrats have said they must have the Covid relief bill passed into law.
Can this bill pass by mid-March?
Democrats say yes.
"We are on track to get this bill done and get it on the President's desk before the expiration of the enhanced unemployment benefits, which is March 14," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday.
There's a lot more in the article, but for now, at least we know about the deadline and that there is a plan in place to get this done.

Hold on folks.......help is on the way!
 

jthomas666

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Right now the min wage increase appears to key the key sticking point. Both Manchin and Sinema are opposed--though Sinema says her opposition is more procedural she doesn't think that it's appropriate to use reconciliation for anything other than the budget.

The Senate parliamentarian just ruled the same way, so God knows what will happen at this point.
 
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Ole Man Dan

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Look at the bill.
Precious little money is really for Stimulus, the lion's share goes to other things. (IMO some more political than good)
It is in the Democrats best interest to do something before the
Ides of March. Right now the back room deals are still going on...)
 
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NationalTitles18

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Look at the bill.
Precious little money is really for Stimulus, the lion's share goes to other things. (IMO some more political than good)
It is in the Democrats best interest to do something before the
Ides of March. Right now the back room deals are still going on...)

Here are the some of the biggest provisions and how much the Congressional Budget Office expects them to cost in outlays or reduced revenues, or both, over 10 years:

Direct payments to households: Similar to previous rounds of $1,200 and $600, these payments would be $1,400 per tax filer ($2,800 for couples) and $1,400 per eligible dependent. The payments would start phasing out at an individual income of $75,000, with eligibility based on 2019 or 2020 tax returns. Price tag: $422.3 billion.

Aid to state, local and tribal governments: This would provide money for states and local governments, as well as tribal governments, to offset tax-collection losses and increased spending resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Price tag: $350 billion.

Pandemic-related unemployment benefit provisions: Three pandemic-related unemployment assistance programs — a $400-a-week federal add-on to benefit checks, extended federal benefits for those who have exhausted state benefits and a program for jobless benefits for gig-economy workers — would be extended. Price tag: $245.8 billion.

Aid to help reopen schools: The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund would provide money to schools to help with reopening and making them safer to attend. Price tag: $128.6 billion.

Child tax credit expansion: The existing child tax credit of $2,000 per child would be enlarged for one year to $3,000 ($3,600 for children under 6) and made refundable, meaning tax filers would still get the money even if the credit is larger than their tax bill. It would be phased out starting at $75,000 for individual filers and the Treasury Secretary would be directed to send advance payments monthly starting in July. Price tag: $109.2 billion.


Multiemployer pension plan aid: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Program would be able to give grants to underfunded pension plans guaranteed by the PBGC. The PBGC revolving fund to help pay full benefits when pensions fall short is set to be exhausted in 2027 under current law. Price tag: $81.5 billion.

Minimum-wage increase: The bill would boost the federal minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour to $9.50 and gradually to $15 in 2025. Price tag: $45.4 billion.

FEMA: The Federal Emergency Management Administration would get money to help it respond to major disasters and cover coronavirus-related funeral expenses. Price tag: $47 billion.

Coronavirus testing: The bill would provide money for increased detection, diagnosis and monitoring of coronavirus infections and money for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for genomic sequencing and disease surveillance. Price tag: $48.5 billion.

Aid for metro transit systems: The Federal Transit Administration would be able to give grants to transit agencies to help them pay for operating expenses and maintain their payrolls. Price tag: $27.9 billion.
Take out minimum wage and we're looking at 1.5 trillion or so. Which items are a problem?
 
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Bazza

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Why can't we have two separate bills?

One just to send the checks out to the folks......which is passed right away with no debates or delays.

And a followup bill which has all this other stuff in it.

I'm not debating what should be included....just wondering why everything has to be done in one big bill, instead of two, so the checks could be expedited.
 

BamaFlum

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Why can't we have two separate bills?

One just to send the checks out to the folks......which is passed right away with no debates or delays.

And a followup bill which has all this other stuff in it.

I'm not debating what should be included....just wondering why everything has to be done in one big bill, instead of two, so the checks could be expedited.
Yea, why not simple stimulus bill without any pork? The Democrats could win a lot of popular support with something like that.
 
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crimsonaudio

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Why can't we have two separate bills?

One just to send the checks out to the folks......which is passed right away with no debates or delays.

And a followup bill which has all this other stuff in it.

I'm not debating what should be included....just wondering why everything has to be done in one big bill, instead of two, so the checks could be expedited.
Because pork is how we waste more money than any country on the planet by funding pet projects.

I wish they'd pass a law banning anything added to bills that's beyond the scope of the purpose of the bill.
 

CrimsonMapper

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Why can't we have two separate bills?

One just to send the checks out to the folks......which is passed right away with no debates or delays.

And a followup bill which has all this other stuff in it.

I'm not debating what should be included....just wondering why everything has to be done in one big bill, instead of two, so the checks could be expedited.
The democrats are using the budget reconciliation process to get the bill through the senate. This process requires a simple majority. Anything not in this bill will almost certainly be filibustered by the senate republicans, since the democrats are not close to the 60 votes it would take to bust the filibuster. The senate parliamentarian just ruled that the minimum wage portion of the package can't be a part of the budget reconciliation process because it's "incidental" to the federal budget, so unless they come up with an increase that 60 senators can get behind, I doubt federal minimum wage will be increasing for a while. It will be interesting to see what the progressive senators try to tack on once the package gets through the house.
 
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B1GTide

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I'd call the MW pork - it really has nothing to do with COVID.
I can see the connection, but it is tenuous. More people are under-employeed in times like this, and that means that people are working for less than a living wage who would, other than Covid, be working for a living wage.
 

crimsonaudio

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I can see the connection, but it is tenuous. More people are under-employeed in times like this, and that means that people are working for less than a living wage who would, other than Covid, be working for a living wage.
Yeah, but using that sort of logic, almost anything that will help people could be included. Not arguing with you, we're on the same page here, just making the point as to how I see it as unrelated.

Not to mention there are tons of small business hanging on by threads right now - it doesn't seem this is the right time to address this.
 

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