The House Democrats just put together a pretty solid COVID 4 response package. Is it the bill I would have written? No. Do I think they could have done more? Absolutely. But this is the best COVID response bill so far. Some pros and cons:
Pros for people:
-More unemployment support & food stamps
-Some student debt cancellation
-Support for renters & moratorium on some evictions
-Expands paid leave to all workers
-Pays for COVID-related health care
-Many good provisions for immigrants regardless of status
Pros for democracy:
-$$$ for election security, vote by mail, and USPS
-Same day and online voter registration
-Expanded early voting
-$1 trillion for state & local governments (important for democracy + people)
And the cons:
-No paycheck guarantee - just a little one-off tax credit
-No earmark for PPE for frontline staff
-Doesn't rein in Big Pharma, & MIA on corp accountability
-Allows some of Trump's xenophobic policies to continue unchecked - e.g. wall building and public charge regs
Overall, I'd give it a B+. Many solid components that progressives should like, and room for improvement in some key areas.
Two caveats:
1) This is a 1815-page bill, so more details will be discovered & debated (maybe good or bad).
2) This is the HOUSE bill. After it passes, it'll go to McConnell's senate. The danger is this B+ bill becomes a D or F through that process. That's the next fight.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.