Congress

Workers Suffer As US Pandemic Relief Bill Goes Nowhere In Congress

December 18, 2020 Walter Smolarek, Peoples Dispatch. Educate! Congress, COVID-19, Recession, Working Class

Not only has the coronavirus pandemic taken a staggering toll in terms of loss of life in the United States but has also caused social and economic dislocation for the working class on a massive scale. The impact of this crisis is likely to last far beyond the distribution of a vaccine. When the pandemic began to spiral out of control in March, Will Harris was one of the millions of retail workers who lost their income. Harris, who worked two part-time jobs, said that as the months of unemployment dragged on, “I couldn’t afford all my groceries when I needed them… I felt bad for spending on anything even if it was absolutely essential,” and he had to start rationing medical treatments like testosterone.

The Case For Forcing A Floor Vote On Medicare For All

December 17, 2020 Briahna Joy Gray, Current Affairs. Strategize! Congress, COVID-19, Medicare for all, Progressivism

On November 27th, YouTube pundit and comedian Jimmy Dore proposed a provocative plan to advance the Medicare for All movement: refuse to re-elect Rep. Nancy Pelosi D-CA as Speaker of the House until she brings Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s Medicare for All bill H.R. 1384 to a floor vote. Because last month’s elections whittled down the Democratic majority in the House, it would take only a handful of Democrats to hold Pelosi’s speakership hostage. The “Squad,” composed of Reps. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), could theoretically find sufficient support from among the ranks of the nearly 100 members of the Progressive Caucus.

Economic Consequences Of A Second Economic ‘Mitigation’ Bill

December 17, 2020 Jack Rasmus, ZNet. Educate! Congress, COVID-19, Recession, Unemployment

As of mid-December 2020 the US economy has begun showing increasing signs of an exceptionally weak 4th quarter, October-December, growth. After having collapsed -10.5% in the March-June 2020 period, followed by a partial ‘rebound’ (not sustained recovery) in the 3rd quarter, July-September 2020, the economy is now slowing rapidly once again. Dismal reports of consumer and especially retail sales in October-November appear driving the slowing growth—in turn driven by rising unemployment claims, a growing number of permanent layoffs by large businesses as the economy structurally changes long term, and, shorter term, by a sharp rise in Covid deaths, infections, and consequent partial shutdown of the services sector of the US economy throughout the US.

Democrats Make Wreck Of Covid-19 Relief Negotiations

December 16, 2020 Matt Taibbi, TK News. Educate! Congress, COVID-19, Democrats, Recession

A senior Democratic congressional aide is irate tonight. “The Democrats,” the aide seethed, “have just done the worst negotiating in modern history.” At issue: a pair of new Covid-19 relief bills, just submitted by a bipartisan group of Senators. Republican Senator Susan Collins gushed that a“Christmas Miracle” allowed the two parties came together on the twin bills, which the press describes as totaling $748 billion and $160 billion, respectively. “Bipartisanship and compromise is [sic] alive and well in Washington,” clucked West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin. It sure is. With the election over, the Democratic leadership in the space of a few weeks somehow negotiated against themselves...

Nineteen Tragic Facts About The COVID-19 Economy

December 11, 2020 Bill Quigley, Popular Resistance. Educate! Congress, COVID-19, Human Rights, Recession

87 million. 87 million workers will lose federally mandated COVID sick leave at the end of December unless Congress acts to extend the law. 50 million. 50 million people are now facing hunger at least once a month, including 1 in 4 children. The rate of adults who sometimes or often do not have enough to eat is double in Black and Latino homes, according to the Associated Press. 30 million. 30 million people are facing eviction as of December 31, 2020 when the current Centers for Disease Control moratorium on evictions ends. There has been a 70% increase in the number of people paying their rent by credit card.

The MORE Act Is A Step Toward Unraveling The War On Drugs

December 10, 2020 Breanna Robinson, Conversations Indy 100. Create! Congress, Marijuana Legalization, Mass Incarceration, MORE Act

For decades, many people have been subjected to criminal prosecution for the possession of marijuana. Some people that are impacted by this end up going to prison with people that have serious criminal backgrounds, which I find quite frightening and unjust, wondering if there will ever be a law that can tackle these unfortunate circumstances. Then along came the MORE Act. On Friday, The House of Representatives voted to pass the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Engagement (MORE) Act, an H.R. 3884 bipartisan legislation set to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.

Congress Is Deadlocked On COVID-19 Relief

December 5, 2020 Sarah Lazare, In These Times. Educate! Congress, COVID-19, NDAA, Pentagon Budget

The annual approval of the gargantuan U.S. military budget is one of the most reliable rituals in Congress. It is so ordinary and overwhelmingly bipartisan, it’s barely considered newsworthy, and few outlets follow the details of exactly how much the government is allocating to a nuclear weapons buildup, or deployments to the Asia Pacific, or the steady creep of U.S. military bases across the continent of Africa. Even under President Trump, when the Democratic leadership claims to have struck a more confrontational posture, those same leaders have repeatedly handed him bloated military budgets, as we saw Wednesday with Congress’ bicameral approval of a roughly $740 billion military budget for 2021.

Biden At The Cannabis Crossroads

November 28, 2020 Gabrielle Gurley, The American Prospect. Create! Congress, Executive Order, Joe Biden, Marijuana Legalization

Shortly after the election, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to members that outlined legislative priorities for the waning days of the 116th Congress. One of them is the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act. Hoyer indicated that the bill may come up for a vote in early December. A legislative victory, albeit in just one house, would complement decisions by voters who legalized marijuana in five states earlier this month. MORE reflects realities on the ground: Marijuana is now mainstream, on a par with alcohol and tobacco.

Guatemala’s Congress Burns Amid Mass Protest

November 22, 2020 Telesur English. Resist! Budget, Congress, Guatemala, Infiltration

Guatemalans have taken to the streets for a national protest in rejection of President Alejandro Giammattei, and to demand that he veto the controversial general budget for 2021, approved by lawmakers on November 18. A fire broke out at the Congress in the capital city, though the main protest groups maintain that the people have continued to demonstrate peacefully in the central square which is surrounded by riot police. They warn that infiltrated groups have burned down the Congress, serving as a distraction from the popular calls in rejection of corruption.

Urgent Need For Further Relief

November 16, 2020 Chad Stone, Claire Zippel, Alicia Mazzara, Catlin Nchako and Arloc Sherman, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Educate! Congress, Pandemic, Poverty, Recession

Policymakers returning to work after the election must redouble their efforts to negotiate a robust relief package to address the critical health and economic challenges facing the nation. With COVID-19 still not under control — in fact, cases are spiking in many parts of the country — and the economic recovery slowing, additional well-designed relief measures are vital to relieving hardship and promoting a stronger recovery. Relief measures enacted earlier this year have mitigated hardship, but they had significant gaps; for example, the SNAP increase in the Families First Act of March left out...

Rep. Meeks’ Ties To Colombian Paramilitaries Exposed

November 9, 2020 Sarah Lazare and Maurizio Guerrero, In These Times. Educate! Colombia, Congress, Corporate Trade, Paramilitaries

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D‑N.Y.), the establishment favorite to replace outgoing Rep. Eliot Engel (D‑N.Y.) as chair of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, is known for his fierce support of “free trade” deals around the world. He didn’t just vote in favor of agreements like the Central America Free Trade Agreement or the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, but actively lobbied for them, and has spoken repeatedly and consistently about the merits of such deals, even when it involved siding with Republicans against the majority of Democrats.

The Nightmare Facing The Poor And Working Class

October 15, 2020 Jeff Schuhrke, In These Times. Educate! Congress, Economic insecurity, Recession, Working Class

As millions of U.S. workers face unemployment, food insecurity and eviction amid the coronavirus pandemic, the limited aid provided by the federal government’s flawed CARES Act from March has long since dried up. Last week, following more than six months of stalled negotiations with congressional Democrats over a new economic relief package, President Trump abruptly announced he was halting talks until after the November election. While the president quickly backtracked and is now reportedly continuing to negotiate, the federal government’s ongoing failure to pass a new relief package spells catastrophe for a U.S. working class...

Missile Defense Has Bipartisan Support Even Though It Wastes Money

October 6, 2020 Subrata Ghoshroy, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Educate! Congress, Corporate duopoly, Empire Economy, Wars and Militarism

The program to develop a missile defense system to protect the United States mainland has existed in one form or another for nearly six decades. Though it was controversial from the beginning and faced nearly unsurmountable technical challenges, it has enjoyed bipartisan support and continued funding in Congress for more than 20 years. In July, both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed their own versions of a defense authorization bill for 2021. By a wide majority, both chambers authorized more than $740 billion for defense spending next year.

New Jobs Report Consistent With Weak Economy

October 4, 2020 Jeff Cox, CNBC. Educate! Congress, COVID-19, Jobs, Recession

Weaker-than-expected job growth in September sent a signal that the sharp economic recovery off the coronavirus shutdown may be hitting a wall. The Labor Department reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 661,000 in September, held back by declines in government employment and an exodus of workers from the labor force. In normal times, that type of hiring pace would be considered a sign of a robust job market. The total, in fact, would have been the best month the U.S. had seen since 1983 – if these were normal times and not amid the Covid-19 era that has changed the benchmarks by which economic data is measured.

«1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 »

Daily movement news and resources