March 16, 2021
Mitch McConnell on Tuesday came out swinging against the growing calls among Democrats to ditch the filibuster, warning that the move would leave behind a "completely scorched-earth Senate" that would function "more like a hundred-car pile-up." Those are strange words of caution coming from McConnell, whose singular role in obstructing legislation as the majority leader—something he now warns will be the biggest consequence of killing the filibuster—earned him the label of "grim reaper." Still, if the filibuster was killed, McConnell went on, Republicans would feel emboldened to push through some of the party's most toxic items on their legislative wish list, including the defunding of Planned Parenthood; concealed-carry reciprocity across the country; and "sweeping" abortion restrictions.
All that bluster, of course, comes as Democrats move ahead with HR 1, or as Mother Jones’ voting rights expert, Ari Berman, calls it, "really the most significant democracy reform bill since the Voting Rights Act." Though it passed the House, it still faces a Senate filibuster—something Dems have warned they're willing to get rid of if it's used to block HR 1. Today, McConnell is left to issue threats of a political nightmare that he, for years, has already implemented.
—Inae Oh
More than 40 percent of Republicans say they won't get the coronavirus vaccine. That's largely on Trump.
BY DAVID CORN
BY NATHALIE BAPTISTE
BY JACKIE FLYNN MOGENSEN
BY RUSS CHOMA
BY LIL KALISH
Almost half of the workers at the Farmer John pork processing plant have been infected with the virus.
BY GEORGIA GEE AND LEAH DOUGLAS
Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack.
SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE
Last week, President Biden signed into law historic anti-poverty measures as part of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. Now, Senate Democrats are pushing to make the temporary provisions from the American Rescue Plan into permanent fixtures.
The law gives most families a $3,600 tax credit for each child under age 6 and $3,000 for children aged 6 to 17. “Though framed in technocratic terms as an expansion of an existing tax credit, it is essentially a guaranteed income for families with children, akin to children’s allowances that are common in other rich countries,” wrote the New York Times’ Jason DeParle. Columbia University researchers project that the provision could cut child poverty in half. In its current form, the provision lasts only a year.
Yet even before the stimulus package was signed into law, some Democrats voiced support of extending the benefit indefinitely. Speaking on MSNBC on Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed, “I’ll do everything I can to make it permanent.” He added, “That’s one of the most important things we can do. We can change America, if we make them permanent.”
The stimulus package also expands the federal nutrition program for low-income women and children, enhancing monthly vouchers for fruits and vegetables from $9 for children and $11 for women to $35 for both. In a press conference on Sunday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called for the increases to be extended indefinitely.
Gillibrand previously called to permanently extend another provision, which expands sick leave benefits for workers. “One of my goals is to make paid leave permanent,” she told Yahoo Finance. “We are still the only industrialized country in the world without access to paid leave and most workers do not have access.”
—Julia Lurie
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