Democrats Angle To Add $3,000-Per-Child Aid To Stimulus Bill
Under the plan, millions of families would start in July getting $250 a month for each child. Caps would depend on total income.
Congressional Democrats will try to insert a major child poverty reduction proposal into their Covid relief package when it comes up for consideration in the next few weeks. The proposal, details of which are still being finalized, would provide families a $3,600-per-child allowance for children under the age of 6 over the course of three years. and $3,000 per child for those between the ages of 6 and 17. The size of the benefit would grow smaller at certain yearly income levels 鈥 $75,000 for single parents and $150,000 for a couple鈥檚 aggregate total 鈥 and would be distributed on a monthly basis. (Stein, 2/7)
Senior Democrats on Monday will unveil legislation to provide $3,000 per child to tens of millions of American families, aiming to make a major dent in child poverty as part of President Biden鈥檚 $1.9 trillion economic relief package. The 22-page bill to dramatically expand direct cash benefits to American families was obtained by The Washington Post ahead of its release. (Stein, 2/7)
Joe Biden had a message for naysayers on Friday as he looks to move his Covid-19 relief package forward: get on board or get out of the way. In remarks at the White House, the president showed no signs of moving off his $1.9 trillion economic rescue plan, pointing to lackluster January jobs numbers released Friday as further justification for spending big and moving quickly. (Cassella, 2/5)
Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), one of Biden鈥檚 closest confidants and a longtime colleague, said that while the president cares deeply about bipartisanship, he won鈥檛 let that impulse prevent him from helping Americans struggling amid the pandemic. 鈥淲ho Joe is and who he鈥檚 been for decades is a Senate man, a person who wants to see the best in others, who if it鈥檚 at all possible wants to reach a reasonable, principled compromise,鈥 Coons said. 鈥淏ut he鈥檚 perfectly clear that if he spends months and months chasing Republican partners who never emerge, he鈥檚 doing a real disservice to a country in crisis.鈥 (Parker, Viser and Kim, 2/7)
In related news about President Biden's covid-relief plan 鈥
The White House COVID-19 task force announced Friday that the Biden administration plans to use the Defense Production Act to ramp up manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines, surgical gloves and at-home testing kits as part of an effort to increase supplies and reduce long-term dependence on foreign suppliers. The administration said it will use the DPA to contract with six more COVID-19 at-home test suppliers, which should result in more than 60 million at-home tests becoming available by the end of the summer. This news comes just days after the administration announced a $231.8 million deal with at-home COVID-19 test-maker Ellume to produce 100,000 test kits per month for the United States from February to July, with a goal of ramping that number up to 19 million tests per month by the end of the year. (Cohen, 2/5)
Two in 3 Americans approve of President Biden鈥檚 handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a poll by ABC News-Ipsos, with widespread support for his efforts to pass a relief bill. The survey was conducted Feb. 5 and 6 among 508 adults using the probability-based KnowledgePanel. Biden鈥檚 67 percent approval on handling the coronavirus contrasts sharply with how Americans felt President Donald Trump handled the pandemic. In October, 61 percent said they disapproved of Trump鈥檚 response to the coronavirus. (Shammas, 2/7)
In other news from Capitol Hill 鈥
Senate Republicans plan to link President Joe Biden鈥檚 pick for Health secretary with California鈥檚 troubled pandemic response in a long-shot bid to sink the nomination later this month. As the state鈥檚 attorney general, Xavier Becerra enforced stay-at-home orders and other restrictions imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, including limits on indoor religious services that outraged many on the right. (Ollstein, 2/6)
As the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate workers 鈥 particularly women 鈥 a new generation of advocates are hopeful a more expansive iteration of the FMLA might finally have a shot. On Friday, Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) reintroduced the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would grant workers up to 12 weeks of paid leave, whether to recover from illness or childbirth, or provide care for a loved one. (Bellware, 2/6)
