Biden is winning Republican support for his $1.9 trillion relief plan. Just not in Washington.

By artappraiser on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 2:57am |

By Grif Witte @ WashingtonPost.com, Feb. 14

[....] Though Dyer is a Republican, he’s rooting for the president to successfully push through federal aid that, after a nightmarish year for Fresno, will “help get us to the end.”

The first-term mayor’s stance reflects a broader split, one that gives Biden and his fellow Democrats a key tactical advantage as negotiations near an expected climax early next month.

Republicans in Congress overwhelmingly oppose the relief bill, casting it as bloated and budget-busting, with some heaping particular scorn on a measure to send $350 billion in assistance to states and cities. Should Biden go ahead without their approval, GOP leaders say, it will prove that his mantra of bipartisanship rings hollow.

But to many Republicans at city halls and statehouses across the country, the relief package looks very different. Instead of the “blue-state bailout” derided by GOP lawmakers, Republican mayors and governors say they see badly needed federal aid to keep police on the beat, to prevent battered Main Street businesses from going under and to help care for the growing ranks of the homeless and the hungry.

“It’s not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue,” said Dyer, who became mayor last month following a long career as the city’s police chief. “It’s a public health issue. It’s an economic issue. And it’s a public safety issue.”

Surveys show that a broad majority of Americans support the assistance, including large numbers of Republicans. Only a minority among Republican voters agree with GOP lawmakers that the aid package is too large, polls have found.

Biden on Friday highlighted the rift, inviting a bipartisan group of mayors and governors to the White House to discuss the specifics of the bill.

“You folks are all on the front lines and dealing with the crisis since day one,” he told the group, which included the Republican governors of Maryland and Arkansas, as well as Republican mayors.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R) later told reporters from the podium in the White House briefing room that he had spoken with Biden and Vice President Harris more in the first several weeks of their administration “than I had spoken to the prior administration in the entirety.”

Biden said he brought the group to the White House to ask “what do they think they need most.” [....]

URL:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/local-republicans-support-biden-covid-relief-plan/2021/02/14/9791d4ba-6d65-11eb-9ed1-73d434b5147f_story.html

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The trial is over. Now we can finally return to governance. [AND NOT POLITICS]

Op-ed y Jennifer Rubin @ WashingtonPost.com, Feb. 16

Politics can be thrilling, infuriating and, for some of us, all-consuming. For four years, politics was intensely personal — intruding into every nook and cranny of our lives, revealing unpleasant truths about colleagues and acquaintances and spreading anxiety from coast to coast. The impeachment trial was yet another small dose of that: Republicans were infuriating purveyors of lies. The awfulness of the former president and his quislings reminded us that democracy separated from truth becomes a cult. But thankfully, the trial was short. And we now return to calm, sane and comfortable governance.

When politics is engrossing and highly emotional, there is a good chance things have gone terribly wrong. One need only look at the vaccine debacle in California and the recall effort mounted against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom or the horrendous power outage in frigid Texas weather to understand that high emotion and governing disaster often go hand in hand. By contrast, quiet and competent governance that does not dominate our psyche is neither the cause of all our emotional turmoil nor the source of our tribal identity.

President Biden is receiving high approval (62 percent in the latest Politico-Morning Consult poll) and overwhelming support for his stimulus plan. Republicans are squawking about “cancel culture” (which only about half of Americans have ever heard of), likely because they have no interest in the nuts and bolts of governance, especially competent governance that is delivering what people want. They are spending their time, well, canceling or censuring Republicans with spine and character who voted to impeach. One side is governing; the other is doing — I am not sure even how to describe it — performance art? Right-wing media production?

Biden is doing what presidents should be doing: building support for his agenda and generally ignoring the Republicans’ high dudgeon. The Post reported:

[............quote from the article posted above.............]

[.....]

Conservatives used to understand that all of life should not be politics. They used to understand that we have identities and bonds that are entirely outside the political debate. And finally a president delivers. It just so happens to be a center-left Democrat, which tells you a lot about the GOP dumpster fire and the progress the Democratic Party is making in forging a broad coalition of the sensible and the sane.

by artappraiser on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 3:04am

1/ Finally getting a chance to fully review the @EnergyCommerce markup of the next #COVID19 legislation. Glad to see evidence-informed policy making. Thx @FrankPallone. https://t.co/eWmPIkesdb
— Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, FAAP (@AndreyOstrovsky) February 18, 2021

2/ $331 million to expand the number of Teaching Health Centers (THC) Graduate Medical Education (GME) sites nationwide and increase the per resident allocation
— Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, FAAP (@AndreyOstrovsky) February 18, 2021

3/ $1.8 billion to HHS to support the purchase, procurement, or distribution of COVID-19 tests and testing supplies, PPE, and vaccines for staff and individuals in congregate settings. (this has been well covered in media recently)
— Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, FAAP (@AndreyOstrovsky) February 18, 2021

4/ Requires Medicaid coverage of COVID-19 vaccines and treatment without beneficiary cost sharing with vaccines matched at a 100 percent federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) through one year after the end of the public health emergency (PHE)
— Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, FAAP (@AndreyOstrovsky) February 18, 2021

5/ @samhsagov getting some love: $1.75 billion for each of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Community Mental Health block grant programs
— Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, FAAP (@AndreyOstrovsky) February 18, 2021

6/ $80M for behavioral health training for health care professionals, para-professionals, & public safety officers; $20M for evidence-based education/awareness campaign targeting health care professionals/first responders; $40M to promote BH among health professional workforce.
— Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, FAAP (@AndreyOstrovsky) February 18, 2021

7/ Some nice harm reduction work: $30 million to develop a new grant program at SAMHSA to support community-based overdose prevention programs, syringe services programs, and other harm reduction services
— Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, FAAP (@AndreyOstrovsky) February 18, 2021

8/ $100 million to the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program, which is administered by HRSA, to expand access to behavioral health services through focused training
— Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, FAAP (@AndreyOstrovsky) February 18, 2021

9/ Allows states, for five years, to extend Medicaid eligibility to women for 12 months postpartum. Would be a big win for improving equity and long term ROI for health.
— Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, FAAP (@AndreyOstrovsky) February 18, 2021

10/ Provides Medicaid eligibility, for five years, to incarcerated individuals 30 days prior to their release – down payment on the Medicaid Reentry Act
— Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, FAAP (@AndreyOstrovsky) February 18, 2021

11/ Enhanced FMAP to incentivize state Medicaid programs to cover mobile crisis intervention services for individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use disorder crisis.
— Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, FAAP (@AndreyOstrovsky) February 18, 2021

12/ An incentive for states to expand Medicaid by temporarily increasing the state’s base FMAP by five percentage points for two years for states that newly expand Medicaid. The big sweetener for red states that's been well documented in the media recently.
— Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, FAAP (@AndreyOstrovsky) February 18, 2021

by artappraiser on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 7:11am

news on minimum wage and Manchin:

"West Virginia service workers who were on the call with Manchin slammed his remarks after the meeting. Pam Garrison, who earns the minimum wage and is part of the Poor People’s Campaign state chapter, said Manchin’s responses ... were a 'cop out.'"https://t.co/vZ7WZJliwP
— Bill Scher (@billscher) February 18, 2021

by artappraiser on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 4:38pm

Here’s what’s in Congress’ early draft of Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, thanks to @EmilyStewartM. Some overlooked things: a restaurant rescue fund, help with internet access, bolstering food aid, and more: https://t.co/9hoVa5ncds
— Kay Steiger (@kaysteiger) February 18, 2021

by artappraiser on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 7:57pm

Biden knows how sausage is made in Congress:

President Biden indicated in a call with House Democrats that he was open to sending $1,400 payments to a smaller group of Americans in the next round of coronavirus relief legislation and changing the overall price tag of his $1.9 trillion plan.
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 4, 2021

I would note that negotiation on this particular item might appeal to those on the left who don't think subsidies should go to those who are doing okay (those who do not believe in "trickle down" theory in general) as well as some fiscally conservative type Republicans.

by artappraiser on Sat, 02/20/2021 - 5:10pm

It will seem to millions of voters as an almost instant breaking of a vote-getting-promise of $2000 relief.

by A Guy Called LULU on Sat, 02/20/2021 - 5:50pm

yes, no doubt. and congresspersons do do that all the time, bargain away parts of vote-getting promises (I am reminded of the classic from history: a chicken in every pot. Which is often included in discussions about skillful demagoguery. Myself, I go for hiring good managers.)

by artappraiser on Sat, 02/20/2021 - 6:12pm

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submitted by artappraiser 11 months ago

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Events: Heavy gunfire is occuring around the area of the U.S. Embassy and residential compounds adjacent to the Trutier area of Tabarre. All Embassy personnel have been instructed to remain indoors and shelter-in-place until further notice. All others should avoid the area.

Actions to take:

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Read the article at https://ht.usembassy.gov/security-alert-u-s-embassy-port-au-prince-haiti-december-25-2023/

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You don’t get it.
It’s not about an UNRWA teacher who held an Israeli kid hostage in his house.
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Read the article at https://x.com/GeorgeDeek/status/1731020551328579863?s=20

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Could we have a war in South America?!?

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