Leaked Zoom Call of Joe Biden’s Racism Exposed

What You Need to Know About the Latest Coronavirus Stimulus Package

 https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/know-latest-coronavirus-stimulus-package-233317249.html

In the midst of the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has killed more than 300,000 people in the U.S. and disrupted large swaths of the economy, Congress on Monday night passed the latest in a string of stimulus packages this year.

President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bipartisan bill, which includes some $900 billion in relief, sometime this week.

After months of gridlock — with the House of Representatives' Democratic majority passing a $3 trillion bill in May (later trimmed to $2.2 trillion) that was ignored by Senate Republicans, who likewise did not engage with the White House's $1.8 trillion proposal — House and Senate leaders reached an agreement on Sunday for both a pandemic relief package and a $1.4 trillion deal to fund the government through next September.

The coronavirus stimulus is meant to ease the financial pain caused by public health efforts to slow the spread of the pandemic, such as shutdowns and restrictions on indoor dining and events.

Politico reports that the new deal includes $166 billion in direct payments that will take the form of $600 checks to people making less than $75,000 (some people making more will get reduced amounts) as well as $120 billion in enhanced unemployment benefits and $325 billion for the businesses most hard-hit by the pandemic, including live venues that have been closed for months on end.

The legislation also extends a moratorium on evictions and earmarks billions for COVID-related funeral expenses as well as COVID testing and vaccines.

The sweeping bill combines the government funding and coronavirus relief and runs to more than 5,000 pages. It includes provisions far afield from the pandemic, such as tax breaks and other measures.

The newest wave of aid also come with plenty of criticism, rolling out eight months after Congress approved a more generous $2.6 trillion in emergency assistance money, known as the CARES Act. (Congress has passed various other coronavirus-related relief measures as well, including further funding in April for small businesses.)

Here is how the newest package all shakes out and, given its scope, how it has been both praised and criticized.

Stimulus Checks

Like the first bill, the latest package includes cash payments that will be sent directly to Americans.

Just how much individuals get depends on their income. According to text of the bill, single taxpayers who made up to $75,000 in 2019 will receive $600. Married couples who earned up to $150,000 will receive $1,200.

Payments are reduced for those with earnings above that threshold, and phased out entirely for those who earned more than $87,000 (or married couples who earned more than $174,000).

Families will receive an additional $600 for each household dependent under the age of 18.

As CBS News reports, couples who include an immigrant without a Green Card will also qualify for the checks.

The payments are not taxable.

In an interview with CNBC, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that Americans can expect checks or direct deposits from the federal government in a matter of days.

“The good news is this is a very, very fast way of getting money into the economy. Let me emphasize: People are going to see this money at the beginning of next week,” Mnuchin told host Jim Cramer.

He continued: "People go out and spend this money, and that helps small business and that helps getting more people back to work.”

Unemployment Benefits

The package also includes enhanced unemployment benefits of up to $300 per week for 11 weeks, which will expire in March.

A $600-per-week unemployment enhancement included in the first stimulus bill ran out in July.

CNN reports that the package also extends two unemployment programs that were created with the CARES Act: the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which expands jobless benefits to freelancers workers, independent contractors and the self-employed; and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which provides 13 weeks of additional payments to those who exhaust their regular federal or state benefits.

Small Business Support

The latest relief package reopened the Paycheck Protection Program so that small businesses can apply for a second loan.

As CNN reports, the bill also includes a provision that specifically allots $15 billion for live music venues and cultural institutions, many of which have been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic.

RELATED: IRS Warns That Texts Promising $1,200 Stimulus Checks Are a Scam

Rental Assistance

The moratorium on evictions from the first bill, set to expire at the end of 2020, will be extended through January. At that point, after the Biden-Harris administration begins, it may be extended again.

The legislation also provides $25 billion in emergency rent assistance. As CNBC explained, those funds will be administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which will disperse them to specific states. Tenants will be able to apply for rental aid through state and other relief organizations.

Public Health

The legislation sets aside $69 billion for public health measures. That includes $22 billion for state tracing and testing efforts; $20 billion for vaccine procurement and distribution; and $9 billion for the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccination efforts.

The package also mandates that healthcare providers negotiate with insurance companies directly when it comes to COVID-related medical bills, rather than passing the full cost on to the patients.

In a move that was hailed by advocates, the bill ended the practice of so-called "surprise medical billing," that typically results when someone is treated by an out-of-network physician at a hospital that otherwise accepts their insurance. (The new ban has some exceptions, however.)

Non-COVID Measures

Among the bill's 5,500-plus pages are multiple non-pandemic related measures, such as the establishment of two Smithsonian museums: a Smithsonian American Women's History Museum and a National Museum of the American Latino.

Business Insider notes that the package also contains a number of more unusual provisions, such as $2 billion for the Space Force; $35 million in sexual abstinence programs for kids; and a tax break for those who own racehorses.

Among the more controversial measures is a so-called "three martini lunch" tax deduction for those writing off business lunches. The White House has said the deduction could help revive the struggling restaurant industry, though its critics (like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders) say it's akin to "corporate socialism for the rich."

What Was Lawmaker Reaction?

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi posed praised the latest relief bill in different ways. McConnell framed it as the opposite party finally ceding to the good sense terms of conservatives, who had sought less money overall, while Pelosi described it as a "first step" of what she hoped would be more aid under President-elect Joe Biden. (Pelosi also noted this week that Democrats had been unable to secure as much funding for local governments but hoped to return to the issue.)

“In a few days of hard work, we’ve assembled another historic, bipartisan, rescue package. Just under $900 billion of relief targeted toward our fellow Americans who need help the most," McConnell said Monday.

Pelosi, meanwhile, told reporters that "what I'm excited about in this bill — and it is really the Democratic difference — is what it does for America's working families."

Nonetheless, the long-overdue bill has dissenters on both sides of the aisle: Six Republicans voted against it in the Senate and 53 lawmakers voted against it in the House, including Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib who called it "woefully inadequate."

Republicans critiqued the size of the stimulus for the reverse reason, arguing that it would worsen the debt crisis. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul targeted conservatives who supported the bill during a speech on the Senate floor.

"When you vote to pass out free money, you lose your soul and you abandon forever any semblance of moral or fiscal integrity," Paul said, as quoted by Fox News.

Even those who voted in favor of its passage have offered criticism of the package, which was largely a compromise from earlier Democratic positions (such as the push for a larger direct payment and increased assistance for renters and small businesses). Sanders, for instance, has told reporters the $600 in direct payments isn't enough and that more aid is still needed.

Biden will likely push for more relief upon taking office. The Washington Post reports that he has said the newest stimulus package is merely a "down payment" that will set the stage for more negotiations come January, when Democrats may have control of the Senate following the Georgia runoff elections.

Lawmakers were also critical of the rollout of the legislative text, the printing and posting of which were delayed due to technical errors.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz backed up the criticism of the rush to vote on the bill when lawmakers hadn't yet had the time to read it.

"It's ABSURD to have a $2.5 trillion spending bill negotiated in secret and then—hours later—demand an up-or-down vote on a bill nobody has had time to read," he tweeted.

Tucker Carlson: Congress tells struggling Americans to take their $600 and shut up

 

Our lawmakers seek to change centuries-old societies while their constituents fight to survive

After tense negotiations and multiple rounds of televised theatrics, Congress has passed a spending bill. It's 5,593 pages long, and allocates $2.3 trillion, including more than $900 billion in COVID relief. 

That's a lot of money, but on the other hand, there's a lot of need. Thanks in part to government lockdowns, more than 100 million Americans are out of the workforce. One in six restaurants is closed. Huge parts of the retail sector are in tatters. J. Crew, Pier 1, Neiman Marcus, Brooks Brothers, Century 21 and many others are in bankruptcy. 

If there was ever a time that Americans need relief, it's right now. So be glad to know there is something for you in this bill: It is entirely possible that you could get a $600 check, courtesy of the U.S. Congress.

That money, should you receive it, is yours with which to do what you wish. Buy a moderately sized television set and watch the free channels all night. Rent a Tesla for a day and drive it until the power runs out. Order two appetizers off the tasting menu at The French Laundry in Napa County (Tip not included). The sky's the limit here. Go crazy. It's good to be an American.

On the other hand, it's also pretty good to be a Jordanian. The same bill passed (but not read) by Congress allocates $500 million for border security in that country. Congress wants to help Jordan build a wall along its 275-mile long border with Syria. Apparently, Congress is worried about illegal immigration in the Middle East, which is why it allocated another $250 million for additional border security in Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Oman. God knows those countries need it. Borders make a nation, remember that.

Except here in the United States, which is unique among nations through history, borders are not relevant. In fact, borders are racist. And that's why this very same bill defunds American border security. It slashes funding for ICE detention space and blocks requests to hire more deportation officials. Immigration authorities in this country will have 11,000 fewer detention beds starting this year.

There's also $33 million for what are called "democracy programs" in Venezuela, because we're experts on democracy. We're spending $231 million to help pay down the national debt of Sudan, debt being another area we know a thing or two about. And just in case you were worried that American society wasn't divided enough, this bill creates two new monuments to the interest groups that have the most political power at the moment. So the Smithsonian will create a women's history museum, as well as what's called the National Museum of the American Latino. 

There's a whole lot more for the rest of the world. This bill spends $10 million on what it calls "gender programs" in Pakistan. Now, Congress doesn't specify exactly what those are. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., seems to know and he's thrilled about it. Here he is on "Fox & Friends" Tuesday morning.

Video

GRAHAM: Pakistan is a place I really worry about. [In] 85 countries, a woman can't open up a bank account without her husband's signature. She can't inherit property. If you're a young girl in Pakistan, life is pretty tough. So we're trying to make life better for women throughout the world.

Suddenly, Lindsey Graham is an expert in how the people of a country 7,000 miles away whose language he does not speak and whose culture he does not understand, should be running their families. Lindsey Graham doesn't like how young people in Rawalpindi or Lahore too easily accept the customs of their elders. He'd like to shake things up in Pakistani society. He's got big ideas for how to create more enlightened Urdu-speaking households on the subcontinent, and he's going to use your money to do it.

"We're trying to make life better for women throughout the world," Graham announces, like it's an item on a "honey do" list. Take out the trash, feed the cat, pick up spaghetti sauce, make life better for women throughout the world. It's all in a day's work for an American politician.

"Overreach," I hear you say. "These are the same people who can't get the votes counted in a congressional election." Yeah, but they've got bigger aspirations than that. And those aspirations are all over this bill.

On one page, you will find tens of millions of dollars set aside to recruit and retain women in the Afghan army. Why is the U.S. paying for this? Is that something that will help the United States in some measurable way? Why are we doing this?

The real reason Congress is spending that money, of course, is because crazy ideologues and various interest groups and the federal bureaucracy would like to change one of the world's last remaining traditional societies. Someday, some unhappy 26-year-old foreign service officer can write her master's thesis in gender studies on how she undermined the patriarchy in Southwest Asia. That's the whole point of it.

Meanwhile, no one in the State Department or Congress has paused to think about what the Afghans think. The very same people who lecture you about cultural imperialism think it's totally irrelevant what the native population might think of this. It's possible Afghans may not consider this progress. Maybe they are happy with their ancient culture, unsavory as we may find it. That culture existed a thousand years before ours, and maybe they'd like to keep it.

Come to think of it, why would anyone in Pakistan ever take advice from us on how to organize a society? "You must allow market forces to destroy your gender roles," says a civilization that's become miserable by doing the exact same thing. Maybe they'll tell us to keep our money. But no matter what they say, we will not stop sending them our money.

Foreign aid is the most effective possible way for the academic left to export its poisonous social programs to the rest of the world. The Roman Empire built roads. We demand poor countries become woke. Before long, our aid budget will consist entirely of advanced weapons systems for the Middle East and taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgeries for Africa, and Lindsey Graham and the State Department will be happy about that.

But how will you feel about it? Well, who cares how you feel about it? You get $600, so shut up.

This article is adapted from Tucker Carlson's opening monologue on the Dec. 22, 2020 edition of "Tucker Carlson Tonight."