House passes $1.9T pandemic bill on near party-line vote

Channel 3000 News ^ | February 27, 2021 | AP Staff

[Diana in Wisconsin]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill in a win for President Joe Biden, even as top Democrats tried assuring agitated progressives that they’d revive their derailed drive to boost the minimum wage.

The new president’s vision for flushing cash to individuals, businesses, states and cities battered by COVID-19 passed on a near party-line 219-212 vote early Saturday. That ships the massive measure to the Senate, where Democrats seem bent on resuscitating their minimum wage push and fights could erupt over state aid and other issues.

Democrats said the still-faltering economy and the half-million American lives lost demanded quick, decisive action. GOP lawmakers, they said, were out of step with a public that polling shows largely views the bill favorably.

“I am a happy camper tonight,” Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said Friday. “This is what America needs. Republicans, you ought to be a part of this. But if you’re not, we’re going without you.”

Republicans said the bill was too expensive and said too few education dollars would be spent quickly to immediately reopen schools. They said it was laden with gifts to Democratic constituencies like labor unions and funneled money to Democratic-run states they suggested didn’t need it because their budgets had bounced back.

“To my colleagues who say this bill is bold, I say it’s bloated,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. “To those who say it’s urgent, I say it’s unfocused. To those who say it’s popular, I say it is entirely partisan.”

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The House COVID-19 bill includes the minimum wage increase, so the real battle over its fate will occur when the Senate debates its version over the next two weeks.

The overall relief bill would provide $1,400 payments to individuals, extend emergency unemployment benefits through August and increase tax credits for children and federal subsidies for health insurance.

It also provides billions for schools and colleges, state and local governments, COVID-19 vaccines and testing, renters, food producers and struggling industries like airlines, restaurants, bars and concert venues.

Democrats are pushing the relief measure through Congress under special rules that will let them avoid a Senate GOP filibuster, meaning that if they are united they won’t need any Republican votes.

It also lets the bill move faster, a top priority for Democrats who want the bill on Biden’s desk before the most recent emergency jobless benefits end on March 14.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

And so it begins...

[mewzilla]

Based FL Congressman Byron Donalds Drops Truth Bomb After Truth Bomb, Decimating Democrats

The above should be watched and shared before it's memory holed.

[TexasFreeper2009]

The republicans could of passed their own bill, given everyone $2,000 without all the pork, and kept the senate in the process, but they blew it. Trump handed it to them on a silver platter. To win at least one of the two Georgia runoffs, nothing else was needed by the $2,000 checks to go out.

[SkyDancer]

Five hundred dollars for a gallon of gas; two hundred for a loaf of bread (when available on alternate Tuesdays), etc. Will be just like Zimbabwe.

[Nifster]

The Senate Parliamentarian has already said no to the minimum wage portion of the bill

[Brilliant]

There was bipartisan opposition to this bill.

[Roccus]

“Near party line vote” should read

“Over bi-partisan opposition”

[Roccus]

I type too slow

[PGR88]

2020 message to state politicians: Help rig the election for Biden, and you and your state government cronies will get $billions to spend as you please.

[White Lives Matter]

True! That’s when McConnell backstabbed Trump and offered $600 stimulus checks right before the Georgia runoff election. The voter’s were turned off and stayed home. McConnell wanted to lose the Senate on purpose.

[Carl Vehse]

The Demonicrats continue to give more aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States of America.

[ActresponsiblyinVA]

Prostitutes provide sexual services to customers for money
Congress provides legislation to lobbyists for money

[chiller]

iirc, the Ds special rules are to abolish the filibuster rule for any and all. I believe a couple Ds (Manchin and Sinema) are not on board. RINOs won’t go for it either. I’m not aware of any other means to achieve a 51 vote requirement.

I’d categorize this as wishful thinking on their part....and mine.

One key, offensive provision mandates mail-in voting, nationally, which is tantamount to one party rule. The SC would rule that a constitutional amendment would be required to take state election procedures away from them and hand it to congress.

[volunbeer]

Don’t worry.... the rich will pay for it. /s

[Roccus]

That why “politician” is the only four letter word spelled with ten letters

[SpaceBar]

That’s the beauty of these razor-thin votes, the ‘nays’ can tell their constituents how principled they are while behind closed doors the entire legislative body got exactly what they wanted.

[Rurudyne]

It’s been going on since even before some were deemed too big to fail.

Cancers start off small. But even when small they are still the same cancer that will later kill. FDR and company actually imposed the Arbitrary government cancer that has been consuming us. Others before him advanced it, but were not able to impose it.

[IamConservative]

Previous stimulation checks were based on 2019 tax filings, you know, before the pandemic. Most directly impacted by COVID were impacted in March 2020 or later.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Tere's an EXCELLENT article in today's American Thinker about our pending financial collapse (or hyperinflation as predicted by the top economist at Bank of America). This $1.9 TRILLION plays a significant role and passed on a near-party-line vote, but both parties are equally culpable.

The Federal Reserve Is Taking Us into Uncharted and Deadly Waters, by William Levin, February 27, 2021 (posted by Kaslin).

At the Federal Reserve semi-annual testimony before Congress this week, Chair Jerome Powell should have been asked whether the Fed has become the national Reddit.

The Reddit stock frenzy created a pool of motivated buyers, irrespective of the value of the underlying company.

For more complicated reasons, the federal government is the biggest Redditer of all, Reddit on crack cocaine. Instead of billions, the government plays in the trillions. Instead of a handful of small cap stocks, it has hijacked the entire stock market. But the mechanism is the same. Flood the market with funds, and for good measure force interest rates to zero, eliminating alternative investments. The recent congressional Reddit hearings are parody in comparison to the government's role in driving market prices, in particular the Fed.

Let's make it specific. When Joe Biden promises to spend $1.9 trillion, where exactly does that money come from? Beyond that, even excluding the $1.9 trillion, how does the government finance four years of deficits, which the Congressional Budget Office recently estimated at $5.9 trillion? That's an expected one-term cumulative deficit of $7.8 trillion. Where indeed does this money come from?

The wrong answer is tax receipts. In FY2020, federal budget revenues — i.e., tax receipts — totaled $3.4 trillion — $1.6 trillion from income taxes; $1.3 trillion from payroll taxes; $0.2 trillion from corporate taxes; and the balance of $0.3 trillion from excise, custom duties, estate taxes, and miscellaneous. Spending, on the other hand, totaled $6.6 trillion, versus the pre-COVID budget of $4.8 trillion. The result is a record $3.1-trillion deficit.

The CBO 2020 Long-Term Budget Outlook

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This is going to end in complete financial calamity for the US. The big question is how do we personally protect ourselves from the collapse?