Tag: COVID-19 relief bill

Companies are scaling back layoffs because of Biden’s stimulus package

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Airlines, Amtrak, New York’s MTA cancel or delay thousands of layoffs after passage

Two airline giants said that they would cancel tens of thousands of planned layoffs because of aid earmarked for them in the $1.9 trillion stimulus measure passed by Congress this week, an early sign of job losses averted by the landmark package.

Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, which had warned employees about 14,000 layoffs last month, said in a social media post that Congress’s new funding for airlines would allow the workers to receive their paychecks and health care through September.

American Airlines said it planned to rescind notices it sent last month to 13,000 employees about coming layoffs. Continue reading.

DFL Party Statement on President Biden Signing the American Rescue Plan Into Law

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, his $1.9 trillion COVID relief and stimulus bill, into law. The wide-ranging and incredibly popular bill contains numerous important measures to combatting COVID-19 and helping the American people build back better from the pandemic, including:

  • $1,400 relief checks for most Americans
  • Extended unemployment insurance of $300 per week through early September
  • Child tax credits of up to $3,600
  • More than $15 billion for vaccine distribution
  • Roughly $50 billion for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing
  • $130 billion to safely reopen schools
  • $350 billion in state and local aid

Every DFL member of Congress voted in favor of the American Rescue Plan and every Minnesota Republican voted against it. Republican opposition comes despite the bill’s tremendous popularity among voters across the political spectrum – 75% of American voters and 59% of Republican voters approve of the American Rescue Plan – and despite the roughly $1 billion in local government aid the bill will bring to Minnesota’s Republican-controlled congressional districts.

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Biden indicates he’s open to negotiation on $15 minimum wage

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Comments come as attention turns to passing $1.9 trillion relief bill on Capitol Hill

President Biden indicated Tuesday that he’s open to negotiation on his proposal for a $15 minimum wage, a centerpiece of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill that’s emerged as a flash point as congressional Democrats push the legislation forward.

Biden suggested he could be open to a longer phase-in than the current plan of five years in Democrats’ legislation. He also argued that phasing gradually up to $15 could be beneficial while having less potential impact on business owners.

He made the comments in response to a small-business owner at a town hall hosted by CNN in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. Continue reading.

During Stimulus Markup, Phillips Announces He Will Lead Small Business Committee Hearing on $15 Minimum Wage


Phillips: “I invite American small businesses to come before our committee to discuss the $15 minimum wage proposal, its impact on their businesses, and how we might accomplish the trifecta of livable wages, more jobs, and thriving small businesses. They are not mutually exclusive objectives.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — During a late night stimulus markup yesterday, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) announced that he will lead a Small Business Committee hearing on the impact a federal $15 minimum wage would have on American small businesses and jobs. The upcoming minimum wage hearing will be the Congressman’s first as chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Regulations. 

WATCH: Rep. Phillips announces he will lead Small Business Committee hearing on $15 minimum wage

Remarks as prepared:

Continue reading “During Stimulus Markup, Phillips Announces He Will Lead Small Business Committee Hearing on $15 Minimum Wage”

Mnuchin says new stimulus payments could go out next week as Congress readies relief bill vote

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House and Senate are rushing to approve the package on Monday

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday said millions of Americans could begin seeing stimulus payments as soon as next week as the White House and Congress work to rush a $900 billion spending package into law.

The House and Senate are planning to vote on the measure later in the day, though legislative text for the package was still in development on Monday morning. Final passage in the Senate could be delayed into Monday evening. Lawmakers reached a deal on the bill Sunday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Monday that lawmakers are “going to stay here until we finish tonight.”

Lawmakers are hoping to package the stimulus measure with other bills into a giant piece of legislation. It would include money to fund the government through September 2021 as well as the extension of various tax cuts, among other things. And lawmakers will only have a short period of time to review parts of the bill before voting on what could end up as one of the largest bills ever to pass Congress.

What is in the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill

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Lawmakers late on Sunday released a long-awaited $900 billion coronavirus relief bill that is expected to be passed by Congress on Monday and signed into law by President Trump. 

The relief package will be combined with a $1.4 trillion measure to fund federal agencies through the end of September and a package extending expiring tax provisions. 

Both Democrats and Republicans touted various aspects of the relief package, though Democrats wanted a significantly larger bill. Continue reading.

White House secures ‘three martini lunch’ tax deduction in draft of coronavirus relief package

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President Trump has long seized on the tax break as a way to revive the restaurant industry. But economists have panned it as ineffective and largely benefiting the wealthy.

The draft language of the emergency coronavirus relief package includes a tax break for corporate meal expenses pushed by the White House and strongly denounced by some congressional Democrats, according to a summary of the deal circulating among congressional officials and officials who are familiar with the provision.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a proposal that had not yet been publicly released.

President Trump has for months talked about securing the deduction — derisively referred to as the “three-martini lunch” by critics — as a way to revive the restaurant industry badly battered by the pandemic. Continue reading.

Congress clinches sweeping deal on coronavirus relief, government funding

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Congressional leaders on Sunday reached a mammoth deal to fund the government and provide long-sought coronavirus relief as lawmakers race to wrap up their work for the year. 

The deal will tie a $1.4 trillion bill to fund the government until Oct. 1 to roughly $900 billion in coronavirus aid. In order to give Congress time to process and pass the agreement, the House and Senate passed a one-day stopgap bill on Sunday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced the deal from the Senate floor on early Sunday evening.  Continue reading.

McConnell getting much of what he wants in emerging relief deal

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is getting much of what he wants in an emerging coronavirus relief package, after months of digging in his heels against a demand by Democratic leaders to pass a multitrillion-dollar package that would shore up the ailing finances of state and local governments.

The GOP leader isn’t getting liability protection for businesses and other organizations but McConnell himself last week proposed dropping that controversial item along with another large tranche of funding for state and local government. 

State and local funding was a top priority of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). Continue reading.

Sweeping COVID-19, spending deal hits speed bumps

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Negotiations over a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill are running into eleventh-hour snags, threatening to push Congress into a rare weekend session. 

Lawmakers had hoped to clinch a sweeping deal, which would also fund the government through Oct. 1, on Wednesday after the top four congressional leaders signaled that they were closing in on an agreement after months of stalemate. 

But instead lawmakers and staff warned that — while they still thought they would get the agreement — the final stages of the talks are moving slowly as they continue to haggle over the details and field requests for changes.  Continue reading.