Thread by @Dave_Boucher1

Full Senate begins process of taking up two COVID-19 funding relief bills. Bills offer some, but not all, of the billions already provided by federal government. Plan still differs from House, governor's proposals freep.com/story/news/pol…

The Senate Advice and Consent Committee is supposed to meet right now to discuss the appointment of Elizabeth Hertel as new director of the state health department.

But, given lengthy caucus meetings this morning, the full Senate is still in session.

Alright, here we go. Senate taking up their version of the COVID-19 school funding bill. Offers some, not all of the billions available from Congress.

Dems/Whitmer opposes. House GOP agrees w/withholding some funds, but disagrees with Senate GOP on how much

Sen. Stamas notes bill includes $650 million, specifies $450 per pupil additional funding included in bill.

Total federal funding allocated to Michigan is about $1.9 billion.

Democrats tried to amend the bill so it allocated all of the money available. Move failed on partyline vote.

Now taking up full bill.

Stamas: Instead of issuing a "blank check" to the governor , argues bill funds most pressing needs while saving resources for later use

.@rosemarybayer says she appreciates the work done on the bill, but says she can't vote for bill because it is "fundamentally flawed" due to withholding funds.

Argues withholding funds indicates Legislature believes they know better how to run local schools than educators

.@SenEdMcBroom (in a very spiffy white vest) gets up to speak in favor of the bill.

Says he supports local control for education, but argues constitution makes it clear Legislature is supposed to have a role in determining how to allocate federally appropriated money

As expected, Senate approves ~$1.2 billion funding bill on partyline vote.

Next, Senate takes up SB 114. This is the bill amended in Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday to change how the state decides to distribute vaccines freep.com/story/news/pol…

Stamas: Bill includes $700 million for SNAP, and that's enough.

Democrats trying to amend bill to allow millions more to be distributed.

Hertel: We don't need to wait, there's no reason to wait. Why not now? What would be the downside of giving out the funding now?

Sen. LaSata up next, not talking about the bill, calls on governor to "open up the state." That's not supposed to be allowed.

Hertel: To the previous speaker, thank you for admitting that you don't support providing more $ for food due to a power struggle with the governor

That amendment, to add in more federal $ for SNAP, failed by a 16-19 vote. I believe GOP Sen. Ruth Johnson voted in favor of the amendment.

Fwiw, amendments to bills on the floor offered by any lawmaker from the minority party are rarely adopted.

.@SenErikaGeiss seeks to amend the bill to strike a portion of the bill that refers to "fetal tissue." Section she'd like to remove is below.

She argues the section is political and may dissuade people from getting the COVID-19 vaccine

Amendment fails.

@PaulWojno offers another amendment. Says his suggested change would allocate all available federal funds intended for COVID-19 testing.

Stamas: Bill provides funds for testing. Sounds like he's arguing, as he did before, that funding in bill is enough

That amendment fails as well.

@JeffMIrwin amendment up next. Says amendment would provide all $660 million in rental assistance for the state. Currently, bill includes about 1/3 of that money

.@NushratR has covered this extensively. Renters and landlords agree that all of these funds are needed desperately.

Irwin notes more than 14,000 evictions filed since Jan. in the state freep.com/story/news/loc…

Irwin: The emergency is now, not months from now.

"Let's stop using families facing eviction as political pawns."

Stamas: Vote no on amendment.

Amendment also fails. Looked like there would be a few GOP votes, but board changed pretty quickly.

Senate now in recess

There are additional amendments planned, so interesting to see why Senate is recessing mid-discussion.

Bigger picture to keep in mind: If Senate passes bill today, more evidence of no compromise on how to use federal $.
- House already passed a plan.
- Senate plan is different.
- Both are *very* different from governor's plan.

The result: delays in people getting relief $

Okay, Senate is back.

Sen. Santana offers amendment to take out language from bill that would strip social vulnerability index from state health department's decision making process. Background: freep.com/story/news/pol…

As I mentioned earlier, a Senate committee was supposed to take up the nomination for Elizabeth Hertel as health department director.

Sen. Lan Theis, R-Brighton, issues statement saying she things Senate should weigh rejecting that appointment misenategop.com/theis-calls-on…

Back to the Senate floor, Sen. Runestad speaking against amendment.

(Remember, he's the one who used the phrase yesterday "if you have minority status and you don't speak English that well" freep.com/story/news/pol…)

Runestad arguing Detroit is getting too many vaccines.

Says too many people are eligible in the city now (mentions people who are Deaf or have intellectual disabilities in Detroit)

Keep in mind, the index determines how vaccines are distributed, not administered

Runestad's basic argument is that older people are the most vulnerable. The state and CDC argue that older people are vulnerable, but there need to be more factors considered when deciding how to distribute vaccines.

.@stephanielily: Social vulnerability is not a new concept. The federal government has used these factors for decades to determine how to respond to a natural disaster.

.@CurtisHertelJr: Those who are poor are more likely to die from this disease than those who aren't.

The index helps many districts, not just Detroit, he argues.

.@SenTomBarrett: The bill is about fairness in distributing vaccines.

Makes argument that COVID vulnerability and social vulnerability are different. State, CDC would disagree

Barrett also implies people are jumping ahead of other people in an unfair way.

Says Deaf people in Detroit, regardless of age, are able to get the vaccine when older people in Brighton cannot. Livingston County is at the bottom of the social vulnerability index (it's wealthy)

.@SenErikaGeiss: "Maybe we should just change the name of the index to make it more palatable for you."

Last night, after Barrett/Runestad amended this bill, Geiss tweeted their actions were "racist bulls--t."

Today, Geiss says their actions are "unconscionable."

Geiss: "All of a sudden you're, like, racially aware?"

Senate about to vote on the amendment.

Amendment fails, 16-19. GOP Sen. Schmidt votes in favor of the amendment

.@JeremyAllenMoss, speaking in favor of another amendment, suggests COVID would agree with some of the GOP statements offered on the Senate floor.

Senate GOP voting down several more amendments, with more to come (we're on amendment 10).

At this point, expect entire bill to eventually pass the full Senate along partylines.

Alright, no more amendments. Senate discussing final bill. Again, expect this bill to pass on party lines.

Story: Senate GOP backs their plan for COVID-19 $ bills, including one deemed "racist bulls--t" by some Dems.

Measures provide ~$2 billion in relief, but also withhold billions. Also would prevent state from weighing race, gender in vaccine distribution freep.com/story/news/pol…