States claim the stimulus law assaults state sovereignty by barring local governments from using aid money to cut taxes. But the Supreme Court has consistently approved conditions on federal spending.
13 Mar 2021
A majority of U.S. likely voters believe the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress and signed by President Biden benefits blue states “at the expense of Republican-led ones,” a Rasmussen Reports survey released Friday revealed.
The survey, taken March 10-11 among 1,000 likely U.S. voters, asked respondents whether they agreed or disagreed with the following statement: “The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill “will overwhelmingly benefit Democrat-run states at the expense of Republican-led ones.”
Overall, a slight majority, 51 percent, agreed with that statement, followed by 36 percent who disagreed, and 13 percent who remained unsure.
Republicans are far more likely to agree with the statement a point made by several GOP politicians as Congress debated the measure. Sixty-seven percent of Republicans agree it benefits blue states at the expense of red states, but 54 percent of Democrats disagree. Independent voters remain spit, although a
3 Mar 2021
Senate Democrats are preparing to fully underwrite COBRA subsidies for laid-off workers in their version of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, which would also aid illegal immigrants, according to a report from
Politico.
After the House passed the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus bill on partisan lines, Senate Democrats are now preparing their version of the mammoth legislation.
Politicoreported that Senate Democrats want to increase the COBRA subsidies to help laid-off workers so that they can continue to stay on their employer-provided healthcare plan rather than shop for a plan on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges.
The House version of the legislation allowed for subsidies to pay for 85 percent of COBRA premiums to laid-off workers, including illegal immigrants.
The Democrats are back in the driving seat. Some are demanding a complete overhaul of the health care system, specifically from progressive Senator Sanders. Sanders has just been named to the strategic position of Senate Budget Committee Chairman. Does this mean that the left and center of the Democratic Party will finally agree on a more comprehensive health insurance system?
Senator Bernie Sanders is already promoting his campaign for a universal, public health insurance model with a vengeance:
“I am a very strong advocate of Medicare for All. I introduced legislation in the Senate. I think, at the end of the day, the American people understand that our current health care system is so dysfunctional, so cruel, so wasteful, so expensive that we need to do what every other major country on Earth does, and get health care to all people. What we will be doing is working within the context of what Biden wants.”