Update - 3/11/21 - America Rescue Plan Bill is signed!

[goskins10]

7 minutes ago, NoCalMike said:

The GOP would have been smart

 

You realize it was all downhill from there - you were already in very troubled waters 😉  

 

All kidding aside, I agree. They would have been much better off saying - we don't agree with all the spending in this bill but know how important it is to you help. So we voted for it anyway and hope it does not bankrupt us. You are our first priority. 

 

But of course not only is that not true, they are too worried about agreeing with anything Dem. They have actually worked themselves into a corner. At this point thanks to dumb dumb and his followers it's Dem = bad - Rep (but only trump republican) = good. So even if there is something they want and agree with they are viewed as traitors to the cause for voting for it if it comes from Dems. 

 

Dems are close but have at least left themselves room to work. That's how they got the other covid packages passed. It's not what we want but it helps the American people. 

Edited March 17, 2021 by goskins10

[NoCalMike]

3 minutes ago, goskins10 said:

 

You realize it was all downhill from there - you were already in very troubled waters 😉  

 

All kidding aside, I agree. They would have been much better off saying - we don't agree with all the spending in this bill but know how important it is to you help. So we voted for it anyway and hope it does not bankrupt us. You are our first priority. 

 

But of course not only is that not true, they are too worried about agreeing with anything Dem. They have actually worked themselves into a corner. At this point thanks to dumb dumb and his followers it's Dem = bad - Rep (but only trump republican) = good. So even if there is something they want and agree with they are viewed as traitors to the cause for voting for it if it comes from Dems. 

 

Dems are close but have at least left themselves room to work. That's how they got the other covid packages passed. It's not what we want but it helps the American people. 

 

Right and the GOP made it very easy to the Dems to run in midterms saying "Look, our majority is razor thin. Did you like that stimulus package? The checks? The funding to get schools opened SAFELY & quicker? etc etc etc.....none of that happens if we lose our majorities going forward.  Ask yourself, what is it exactly the GOP is offering?"  *Boom*

[Ball Security]

5 hours ago, goskins10 said:

Here is Katie Porter doing what she does best - she is using her whiteboard to provide details about the American Rescue Plan. It is fairly high level but gives a few details I did not know about. To help navigate if there is something particular you are interested in, here are some time stamps: 

 

0 - 2:18  - Intro

2:19 - 5:28 - Survival Checks 

5:29 - 10:24 - Child Tax Credits (would have liked more detail here. Not becasue I still have children that age, but I think there is a bigger story to tell. Might be in the Q&A that I did not watch.)

10:25 - 12:25 - Unemployment Insurance

12:26 - 14:10 - Shots in Arms! 

14:11 - 17:16 - Kids in School

17:17 - 21:00 - Begins impact discussion but also provides a few more details of smaller parts of the bill. 

21:11 - End - Mostly Q&A. I only watched a few minutes of this but there could be good info in there. 

 

 

Landscape, Katie, not portrait.  C’mon.

[skinsmarydu]

Happy girl right here. 

[China]

Give Us Tax Cuts Or We’ll Take Stimulus To Court, GOP AGs Demand

 

Republican state attorneys general are claiming that a bid to prevent the states from using the $1.9 trillion Biden stimulus package to finance tax cuts constitutes “the greatest attempted invasion of state sovereignty by Congress in the history of our Republic.”

A group of twenty one Republican state attorneys general sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday, demanding that she refuse to implement a provision in the American Rescue Plan which prohibits states from using $350 billion in stimulus on financing tax cuts.

 

It’s among the first salvos in what is likely to be a long war of Republican state attorneys general against the Biden administration and its policy agenda. In this case, the AGs are threatening to sue should Yellen decline to specify that the states can proceed with tax cut measures outlined in the seven-page document.

 

The language of the letter is riven with threats and ultimatums. At the end of the message, the attorneys general give Yellen a deadline: if she does not provide an “assurance” that the states can continue with plans for tax cuts, they “will take appropriate additional action to ensure that our States have the clarity and assurance necessary to provide for our citizens’ welfare through enacting and implementing sensible tax policies, including tax relief.”

 

Congress added the provision during negotiations over the $1.9 billion stimulus package this month as multiple state legislatures indicated that they would use the aid for pandemic-stricken states and cities to finance massive tax cuts.

 

The money comes as states and cities around the country continue to contemplate steep cuts to public services absent an influx of cash, as the pandemic dealt a huge hit to the economy. The stimulus legislation aims at ensuring that federal money is used to patch these budget holes instead of financing tax cuts.

 

The implementation of the law, and the resolution of questions like the fate of pre-existing tax cuts, will be up to the Treasury Department, which has yet to issue any rules on the provision.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[LadySkinsFan]

****ing assholes!

[@DCGoldPants]

We want this relief for our citizens, but only if we can provide tax cuts our donors deserve. 

[Larry]

Any state that wishes can have the funds withheld from their state, while they go to court to argue for their right to divert funds to other purposes. 

[China]

Ohio sues Biden over key element in $1.9T COVID-19 relief package

 

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sued the Biden administration Wednesday, saying the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package signed last week forces states to choose between receiving funding and lowering taxes.

 

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, seeks a preliminary injunction against part of the American Rescue Plan Act. Yost said Congress exceeded its authority when it added the so-called tax mandate to the stimulus plan "at the last minute."

 

"The federal government should be encouraging states to innovate and grow business, not holding vital relief funding hostage to its preferred pro-tax policies," Yost said.

 

The legislation grants billions in funding to states under the provision the states don't use the money to directly or indirectly offset tax cuts or credits. The attorney general's office said the mandate infringes on Ohio's "sovereign authority to reduce taxes."

 

The lawsuit said Ohio is being forced to choose between accepting the $5.5 billion allocated to it under the act and keeping its ability to reduce taxes.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

GOP senator blocks bill to prevent private debt collectors from seizing stimulus checks

 

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) on Thursday blocked legislation that would prevent private debt collectors from being able to seize stimulus checks sent out under the latest coronavirus relief bill.

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) attempted to pass legislation to shield the payments from being garnished by private debt collectors.

 

Though a previous $600 payment passed in December included the protection, the rules of reconciliation — the process Democrats used to avoid the 60-vote filibuster on the most recent bill — precluded similar language from being included into the $1.9 trillion bill. 

 

"Now Senator Brown and I wanted to include these protections in the American Rescue Plan. We wanted to include them just like was done in the December relief bill. But the problem was Senate rules don't allow Senator Brown and I to include these protections in the American Rescue Plan," Wyden said from the Senate floor.

 

Toomey, however, objected. Under the Senate's rule any one senator can try to set up a vote or pass a bill, but any one senator can similarly object.

 

Toomey argued that Democrats' decision to go it alone and use the process of reconciliation on coronavirus relief was the reason they couldn't get the language protecting the payments into the bill.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Here's how unhoused people can get the $1,400 stimulus check -- and how others can help

 

As the third round of stimulus payments goes out, many Americans are obsessively checking their bank accounts. But more than half a million people in the US might not have a bank account to eye or a mailbox to open -- or even a check on the way.

 

People experiencing homelessness are at risk of not receiving the latest payment at all.

It's not an eligibility issue. It's about access.

The full $1,400 payment should go to any individual who earns less than $75,000 of adjusted gross income, heads of households who earn less than $112,500, and married couples who earn less than $150,000.

But because the government uses tax information to identify and send payments, many unhoused people who don't file taxes because of their low income are left out.

Advocates and solutions for unhoused people can help them overcome barriers and receive their stimulus payments.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[visionary]

 

[visionary]

 

[BleedBNG]

 

 

[China]

WAYS AND MEANS DEMOCRATS DEMAND PROMPT PAYMENT OF STIMULUS CHECKS TO SOCIAL SECURITY, OTHER BENEFICIARIES

 

Today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA), Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson (D-CT), Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ), and Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) wrote to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) to express their concerns over reported delays in automatically issuing stimulus checks to some of the most vulnerable Americans. In previous rounds of direct payments, IRS and SSA worked together to deliver assistance to Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), and Veterans Affairs (VA) beneficiaries automatically and promptly. There is no excuse for the delay this round, which puts critical assistance on hold for millions of Americans in need.

 

“The American Rescue Plan was intended to provide much-needed economic stimulus and assistance to people across the country – immediately – and we are counting on your agencies to ensure that beneficiaries are not left behind in the seamless delivery of those payments,” the lawmakers wrote. 

 

Click on the link for the full press release

[NoCalMike]

This is a prime example of Dems needing to be vocal in public about these GOP shenanigans.  Look, we had to sit through 4 years of Trump lying daily, so how about injecting some truth onto the airwaves about how the GOP is trying to sabotage the effectiveness of the stimulus.

[LadySkinsFan]

I'm getting the third tomorrow direct deposit. I didn't get the second one so I'm interested to see if I get the second and third tomorrow. If not, I will claim the second on my tax return.

[88Comrade2000]

I'm supposed to get the third one tomorrow.

[NoCalMike]

Mine finally went in today after pending for almost a week.

[88Comrade2000]

Got mine. Paid back my sister for money I borrowed last year, Girl Scout cookies she got me and gave her money for her delayed birthday gift. Paid my car insurance for next month. Put some in savings. Going to eat at Longhorns for lunch. Then do some grocery shopping.

 

I’m stimulating baby!

[Fresh8686]

Do it. 
 

 

[Llevron]

What If Biden packaged Voting rights with second amendment rights that sated that mandatory background checks of all purchases were going to be a thing, but at the same time no president or legislator will ever be able to TAKE UR GUNZ through any kind of policy?

 

Basically giving the Republican voters something they REALLY want, taking away the republican congresscriters ability to campaign on it, and nothing even changing because no politician could ever take guns away from these people anyway even if they wanted to. 

 

*I have no idea how any of this works 

[BleedBNG]

 

[Elessar78]

"Blew" mine within hours. Paid off debt we incurred for an emergency roof repair. Sucks I didn't do anything fun with it, but at least I'll have a couple extra hundred bucks not going toward debt repayment each month.

[Llevron]

20 minutes ago, Elessar78 said:

"Blew" mine within hours. Paid off debt we incurred for an emergency roof repair. Sucks I didn't do anything fun with it, but at least I'll have a couple extra hundred bucks not going toward debt repayment each month.

That sounds like fun to me playa hahahahcrycryceyhahahhaha