CORONAVIRUS AND CONGRESS
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent

Both the novel coronavirus itself and the politics surrounding it are moving at an increasingly fast pace. (Here is our map of its spread.)  At least half a dozen members of Congress have self-quarantined for exposure, including multiple members who had close contact with President Donald Trump. (We are not including a specific number of members because, like many things in this story, it changes quickly.)

Congress and the president are both drafting plans to try to shore up the economy and help affected workers.  

What’s happening right now:

• Main idea: A public option.
• What does that mean? An optional government health care plan that Biden says is “Medicare-like” and one which all Americans can choose.
• Who gets government healthcare? Any American who wants it. People making 138% or below the federal poverty level may be automatically enrolled. Others would have to enroll.
• What happens to private health insurance? It remains. The government plan would compete with it. 
• What do individuals pay? Premiums would be capped at 8.5% of income for all Americans. Deductibles and copays would be lower than under current Obamacare plans for many people, the campaign says. Biden would raise capital gains taxes for some people who own stocks, so the highest rate is 39.6%.
• What do employers pay? It is unclear if he would increase any charges on employers, who could continue to offer private insurance plans.
• Cost? $750 - $800 billion over 10 years, according to Biden and the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Fiscal Budget.

• Main idea: “Medicare for all.”
• What does that mean? A national, single-payer health insurance program.  This means that the government would be the sole health coverage provider.  
• Who gets government health care? “All Americans,” per the campaign.
• What happens to private health insurance? It is eliminated.
• What do individuals pay? Premiums: Sanders is considering a premium charge of 4% of one’s income, exempting the first $29,000. Deductibles and copays? None. Sanders is considering raising taxes on the wealthy to help pay for this.
• What do employers pay? Sanders is considering a charge of 7.5% of income for employers, exempting the first $2 million in payroll.
• Cost? $14 trillion - $28 trillion. The lower figure is per the campaign, the higher is per nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Fiscal Budget.

FIVE OVERLOOKED POLITICAL STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK
By  Alex D’Elia, @AlexDEliaNews
Politics production assistant

Bloomberg aides cut loose despite year-long employment promise -- March 9. Bloomberg’s shuttered campaign is terminating employees and asking them to reapply for jobs with his newly independent committee aimed at helping Democrats defeat President Donald Trump. Why it matters: The billionaire -- who poured more than 500 million dollars into his own campaign -- made the pledge to employ staff through November with the goal of defeating Trump.  -- POLITICO
 
Trump welcomes Brazil’s Bolsonaro but leaves tariffs on the table -- March 7. President Donald Trump hosted the “Trump of the Tropics,” as Bolsonaro has been nicknamed, at this Mar-a-Lago resort, further cementing one of the closest relationships in the Western Hemisphere. Why it matters: Despite his strong relationship with Bolsonaro, Trump did not refute the possibility of implementing steel and iron tariffs on Brazil. -- The New York Times
 
Social networks haven't done enough to prevent voter manipulation, tech leaders say -- March 10. Eighty-nine percent of technology experts say that social media companies have not done enough to prevent voter manipulation in 2020. Why it matters: Disinformation on social media platforms was a major issue during the 2016 campaigns, and experts say that media companies -- and lawmakers -- have not taken adequate measures to protect from foreign interference on their platforms in 2020.  -- The Washington Post
 
2020 Census to kick off this week -- March 9. In just two days, the first of 112 million households will begin the process to fill out online Census forms. Why it matters: As questions over disinformation rise, and as trust in the government declines, officials are concerned about whether they’ll get the participation -- and data -- they need. -- The Wall Street Journal
 
Coronavirus: California gas prices to drop as economy ‘dancing on a knife’s edge’ -- March 10. Californians can expect to see their gas prices drop for at least the next month, according to experts. Why it matters: This is just one example of the economic impact of the coronavirus that we can continue to see across the country and the globe. Low gas prices are good for the consumer in the short term, but the economic volatility could ultimately be harmful in the long term. -- San Francisco Chronicle

#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Kate Grumke, @KGrumke
Politics producer

Over the weekend, the AFL-CIO canceled a presidential campaign forum in Florida amid fears over the novel coronavirus. Ohio is moving polling locations out of nursing homes and Washington and is advising voters to use wet sponges to seal their mail-in ballot envelopes. 

This isn’t the first time an outbreak had some effect on an election -- another global outbreak happened during a past midterm. Despite fears, the election was held and there wasn’t a national debate about its legitimacy. 
 
Our question: What year did that U.S. midterm election coincide with an epidemic? And for a bonus point, what was the outbreak?
 
Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.
 
Last week, we asked: The first official Super Tuesday was likely during the 1984 election. How many states held their primaries and caucuses on March 13, 1984? The answer is 9 states.
 
Congratulations to our winners: Nancy Bird and Barry Weinstein!!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your Inbox next week.