WTF Just Happened Today

Thursday, March 4, 2021

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1/ The Senate voted to open debate on Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill. The vote was 51 to 50, with Harris breaking the 50-to-50 tie. As soon as the Senate voted to proceed to the bill, Sen. Ron Johnson forced the clerk to read all 628 pages of the bill, which will take hours. Republicans can use up to 20 hours of debate time, and then force an unlimited number of amendment votes. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer dismissed Johnson’s effort to delay, saying the tactic “will accomplish little more than a few sore throats for the Senate clerks […] No matter how long it takes, the Senate is going to stay in session to finish the bill this week.” Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, has promised that the House will pass the Senate’s version of the bill, despite the limited eligibility for $1,400 relief checks and excluded $15 minimum wage increase. (Politico / NPR / Washington Post / Bloomberg)

• ???? Dept. of “We Have It Totally Under Control.”

• Global: Total confirmed cases: ~115,468,000; deaths: ~2,566,000

• U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~28,809,000; deaths: ~520,000; fully vaccinated: ~8.4%; partially vaccinated: ~16.3%

• Source: Johns Hopkins University / Washington Post

• The United States is averaging 2 million vaccine doses administered per day. A month ago, the average was about 1.3 million. (New York Times)

2/ The Trump administration spent about $10 billion in hospitals funds on Operation Warp Speed contracts. Congress had allocated the money to help health care providers pay for pandemic-related expenses including staffing, personal protective equipment, and vaccine distribution. While Congress allowed the Department of Health and Human Services to move money between accounts, lawmakers required the agency notify them at least 10 days in advance of a transfer. Instead, HHS spent the money directly out of Provider Relief Fund on Operation Warp Speed contracts, without making a transfer, which didn’t trigger the congressional notification requirements. (STAT News)

3/ The House passed an expansion of federal voting rights over unified Republican opposition. The bill, titled the “For the People Act,” creates uniform national voting standards, overhauls campaign finance laws, and outlaws partisan redistricting – similar to a bill passed two years ago that stalled in the Senate, which was controlled by Republicans at the time. The measure passed 220-210, with one Democrat joining all Republican House members in voting against it. The bill is unlikely to draw the 60 votes needed to advance in the 50-50 Senate unless Democrats abandon the filibuster. (Washington Post / ...

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