THE NEXT BIG COVID PLAN, FIRST DRAFT
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent

For the first time since Thanksgiving 2020, both chambers of Congress have gone home to their districts for a full week. Seven days with no pending brinkmanship nor imminent deadline. 

But it won’t last long. March 15 marks the end of expanded unemployment benefits for American workers hit by the pandemic, and a critical point for the next round of COVID relief. 

Today was the deadline for House committees to send in their specific plans for the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan proposal. At the moment, Democrats are not bending to calls from Republicans and moderates to lower and target some spending. 

Those House committee plans form a critical first draft of the relief bill. We thought it well worth a look at what’s in Democrats' initial proposal.

FOR INDIVIDUALS

• Checks. $1,400 direct payments to all Americans earning up to $75,000 annually ($150,000 for couples). Smaller prorated payments would go to those earning between $75,000 and $100,000 ($200,000 for couples).
• Parents. $3000 refundable tax credit for Americans with children 6 to 17 years old, $3600 for children under 6. This is for the same income bracket as above and is a one-time temporary increase in the standard child tax credit.
• Unemployment benefits. An extra $400 per week on top of all state unemployment benefits, up from the $300 per week the federal government is currently kicking in. Under the committee plans, that expansion would extend through Aug. 29.
• Airline workers. $15 billion to help cover payrolls through August.
• Airplane manufacturers. $3 billion to help cover payrolls through September 2023.
• Health care. An increase in subsidies and tax credits for the Affordable Care Act for the next two years.
• Rent. $25 billion in rental assistance.
• Mortgages. $10 billion to help struggling homeowners.
• Child care. $39 billion in block grants.
• Food assistance. $5 billion in food assistance, with another $800 million for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and an extension of the 15 percent increase in SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program.

FOR LOW-WAGE WORKERS

• Higher minimum wage. An increase to $15 by 2025.  As we will write in future editions, it is not clear if this can make it past procedural hurdles in the Senate.

FOR INSTITUTIONS AND STATES

• States and the District of Columbia. $195.3 billion.
• Cities and counties. $130.2 billion, split between cities and counties.
• Territories. $4.5 billion
• Tribal governments. $20 billion
• Schools. $1 billion for Head Start programs, $130 billion for K-12, $40 billion for higher education, and $7.5 billion to help expand reliable internet access for teachers and students.
• Mass transit. $30 billion.
• Amtrak. $1.5 billion.
• Airports. $8 billion.

FOR FIGHTING COVID-19

• Vaccines. $14 billion on vaccines, and another $7.6 billion for distribution.
• Testing and tracing. $46 billion
• PPE. $10 billion to use the Defense Production Act to increase supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and boost vaccine production.

FIVE OVERLOOKED POLITICAL STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK
By Ian Couzens, @iancouzenz
Politics production assistant

In Hard-Hit Indian Country, Tribes Rapidly Roll Out Vaccines - Feb. 9. Tribes that chose to opt out of confusing state online scheduling systems and instead used the federally funded Indian Health Services to reach people in ways specific to their own communities have distributed vaccines faster than many other places across the United States. Why it matters: COVID-19 killed Native Americans at a faster rate than any other group in the United States, and while IHS has helped some tribal governments with inoculation success, some 245 tribes are not legally recognized by the federal government, meaning they do not qualify for IHS health care and must seek vaccines through state systems.  -- Stateline

Booker, Warnock introduce bills to tackle needs of farmers of color - Feb. 10. Last week, Sen. Cory Booker reintroduced the Justice for Black Farmers Act, which had previously received broad support before dying in committee last year, and Sen. Raphael Warnock introduced the Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act, which he hopes to include in Biden's $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package. Why it matters: The two bills come at a time when Black farmers across the country are looking to Biden as well as Congress to see if they will follow through on  their promises of bringing equity to USDA.  -- Politico 

Kids’ Climate Plaintiffs Eye Supreme Court After Defeat - Feb. 10. Last Wednesday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected youth activists’ appeal to rehear Juliana v. United States, also known as the kids’ climate case, brought by a group of 21 young plaintiffs claiming that the government is violating their constitutional rights to a safe climate system. Why it matters: Lawyers for the young people are already vowing to take the case to the Supreme Court, but environmentalists have cautioned against it out of fear that the conservative-leaning court could narrow environmental standing and preclude other kinds of climate cases. -- Bloomberg Law 

Delay in U.S. census data could muddle 2022 congressional elections - Feb. 12.  While the Census Bureau has stated that in April, the state-level population figures used to determine whether a state will gain or lose U.S. House seats will be available, the more specific data used to redraw district maps will be delayed until Sept. 30. Why it matters: The new timeline puts redistricting up against a new election cycle. If maps are drawn in late 2021, that leaves little time for legal challenges to work their way through the courts before filing deadlines for elections. And Democrats' already slim hold on the House means that a combination of gerrymandering and redistricting could cost them the majority. -- Reuters

Pentagon, Congress appoint panel members to rename Confederate base names - Feb. 12. The commission is tasked with changing “names, symbols, displays, monuments and paraphernalia” that commemorate the Confederate States of America or any person who voluntarily served it during its brief existence. That includes 10 Army bases named after Confederate leaders. Why it matters: Despite the Trump administration's claims that the NDAA requirement was an attempt to “wash away history,” lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have come together on the issue, arguing that it’s time to remove names that honored traitors who fought to preserve slavery and alienated Black service members for generations. -- The Hill



#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Kate Grumke, @KGrumke
Politics producer

Happy belated Presidents’ Day! The holiday, now celebrated on the third Monday of February, was originally celebrated on President George Washington’s birthday, Feb. 22. It became a federally recognized holiday in 1879 and this year was celebrated on Feb. 15.

Our question: In what year did the U.S. begin celebrating Presidents’ Day on the third Monday of February, rather than on Washington’s birthday, and what was the reason for the change? 

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: How many people overall — including Cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, lawmakers and others — have been impeached twice by the House of Representatives?

The answer: Just one.

That’s right — this was a trick question. President Trump is the only person in U.S. history to be impeached twice by the House of Representatives. Here is the full list of individuals impeached by the House. 

Congratulations to our winner: Robin Rabinowitz!

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