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Tensions rise as $2 trillion virus aid stalls in Washington

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Tensions flared Monday as Washington strained to respond to the worsening coronavirus outbreak, with Congress arguing over a nearly $2 trillion economic rescue package and an impatient President Donald Trump musing openly about letting the 15-day shutdown expire.

As the U.S. braces for an onslaught of sick Americans, and millions are forced indoors to avert a spike that risks overwhelming hospitals, the most ambitious federal intervention in modern times is testing whether Washington can swiftly halt the pandemic on the home-front. By evening, it appeared there would be no further votes Monday, and talks would push into the night.

“It’s time to get with the program, time to pass historic relief,” said an angry Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as he opened the chamber after a nonstop weekend session that failed to produce a deal. “This is a national emergency.”

Fuming, McConnell warned Democrats — pointedly House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — to quit stalling on “political games,” as he described Democratic efforts to steer more of the aid toward public health and workers.

Trump, who has largely been hands off from the negotiations, weighed in late Monday from the White House briefing room, declaring that Congress should vote “for the Senate bill as written,” dismissing any Democratic proposal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYhriqvJMSw&feature=emb_logo

“It must go quickly,” Trump said. “This is not the time for political agendas.”

The president also sounded a note of frustration about the unprecedented modern-day effort to halt the virus’s march by essentially shutting down public activities in ways that now threaten the U.S. economy.

Even though Trump’s administration recommended Americans curtail activities starting a week ago, the president said: “We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. At the end of the 15-day period, we will make a decision as to which way we want to go.”

“Let’s go to work,” he said. “This country was not built to be shut down. This is not a county that was built for this.”

Trump said that he may soon allow parts of the nation’s economy, in regions less badly hit by the virus, to begin reopening, contradicting the advice of medical and public health experts across the country, if not the globe, to hunker down even more firmly.

Pelosi assailed Trump’s idea and fluctuating response to the crisis.

“He’s a notion-monger, just tossing out things that have no relationship to a well coordinated, science-based, government-wide response to this,” Pelosi said on a health-care conference call. “Thank God for the governors who are taking the lead in their state. Thank God for some of the people in the administration who speak truth to power.”

The White House team led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin worked on Capitol Hill for a fourth straight day of talks as negotiators narrowed on a bipartisan accord.

Int the nearly empty building, the virus continued to strike close. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who announced he tested positive for coronavirus, is now among five senators under self-quarantine. Several other lawmakers have cycled in and out of isolation. And the husband of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is in a hospital with pneumonia after testing positive, she said Monday.

With a wary population watching and waiting, Washington labored under the size and scope of a rescue package — larger than the 2008 bank bailout and 2009 recovery act combined.

Democrats are holding out as they argue the package is tilted toward corporations and should do more to help suddenly jobless workers and health care providers with dire needs.

In particular, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wants constraints on the largely Republican-led effort to provide $500 billion for corporations. Democrats call that a “slush fund.”

Yet, he said, “We’re very close to reaching a deal.” Even so, another attempt to move the package forward snagged, blocked as Democrats refused to quit negotiating.

Democrats won one concession — to provide four months of expanded unemployment benefits, rather than just three as proposed, according to an official granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. The jobless pay also would extend to self-employed and so-called gig workers.

But Republicans complained Democrats were holding out for more labor protections for workers, wanting assurances that corporations taking federal aid will commit to retaining their employees.

Pelosi came out with the House Democrats’ own sweeping $2.5 trillion bill, which would provide $1,500 directly to the public and $200 billion to the states, as governors are pleading for aid. She urged Senate negotiators “to move closer to the values” in it.

Trump has balked at using his authority under the recently invoked Defense Protection Act to compel the private sector to manufacture needed medical supplies like masks and ventilators, even as he encourages them to spur production. “We are a country not based on nationalizing our business,” said Trump, who has repeatedly railed against socialism overseas and among Democrats.

From his home, Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden criticized Trump for stopping short of using the full force of emergency federal authority .

“Trump keeps saying he’s a wartime president,” Biden said in an online address. “Well, start acting like one.”

On the economic front, the Federal Reserve announced Monday it will lend to small and large businesses and local governments as well as extend its bond-buying programs as part of a series of sweeping steps to support the flow of credit through an economy ravaged by the viral outbreak.

Central to the emerging rescue package is as much as $350 billion for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers are forced to stay home. The package also proposes a one-time rebate of about $1,200 per person, or $3,000 for a family of four, as well as extended unemployment benefits.

Hospitals would get about $110 billion for the expected influx of sick patients, said Mnuchin. But Democrats are pushing for more health-care dollars for the front-line hospitals and workers.

The urgency to act is mounting, as jobless claims skyrocket and financial markets are eager for signs that Washington can soften the blow of the health-care crisis and what experts say is a looming recession.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.

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Politics

Frost Secures Nearly $12 Million For Key Local Projects in Central Florida

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FILE-Congressman Maxwell Frost (D, FL-10) speaks at Orlando City Hall to announce a $1.5 million grant from the Department of Justice as part of their Office of Justice Programs Community Violence Intervention Initiative October 9, 2023. Photo: J. Willie David III, Florida National News file photo.

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10) announced that he has successfully secured nearly $12 million in federal dollars to fund all 15 of his Community Funding Projects requests and deliver millions to support critical projects to improve housing, transportation, and infrastructure across Central Florida.

The funding, which was signed into law by President Biden earlier this month, will soon start being distributed across Central Florida.

Last Spring, Congressman Frost worked closely with local community partners and stakeholders to submit funding proposals for 15 comprehensive projects to support a wide range of efforts from affordable housing to infrastructure and transportation. Some of the landmark projects that will now receive federal dollars thanks to Congressman Frost’s efforts include:

  • $4,116,279 million to convert a vacant property in Eatonville into an affordable multi-family housing rental apartment building;
  • $1,709,752 to the City of Orlando to rehabilitate a local community center used for Community Violence Intervention programs to stop gun violence before it happens, and to make major improvements to stormwater management to prevent flooding;
  • $1,641,000 to Orange County to construct a multicultural senior center where folks can congregate and be connected to services in partnership with the Office on Aging, and support transportation and energy efficiency projects;
  • $750,000 to support the construction of quality, affordable small houses for low-income people in Bithlo;

“I came to Congress with a mission to deliver on affordable housing, transportation and infrastructure issues, and to make our communities a better place where everyone can live and thrive, and I am now proud to say that our team is making these goals a reality” said Congressman Maxwell Frost. “Central Florida is now set to receive nearly $12 million in federal dollars that will help transform our communities and help grow our local economy. While this $12 million is going to make a world of difference for so many working people and families in the Orlando area – this is only the beginning. My team is ready to secure and bring home even more money to help change Central Florida for the better.

Thanks to Congressman Frost, Central Florida will now receive $11,922,031 to fund the following 15 projects:

  • $4,116,279 for the Town of Eatonville to create a multi-family affordable housing apartment building;
  • $1,000,000 for construction at the Multicultural Senior Center;
  • $750,000 for community center rehabilitation for the Community Violence Intervention Project as part of the City of Orlando;
  • $500,000 for North Independence Lane Expansion for the City of Maitland;
  • $370,000 to provide low-income seniors with high efficiency air conditioning replacement, service, or system upgrades so they can stay in their homes longer;
  • $271,000 for Transportation Mobility Hubs for Orange County Government;
  • $500,000 for a housing rehabilitation and affordability preservation program in the City of Winter Park;
  • $750,000 for the Small House Project at Transformation Village in Bithlo;
  • $850,000 for bus bay reconstruction at LYNX Central Station Bus Terminal;
  • $500,000 for solar technology for bus shelters and shelter refacing for LYNX;
  • $200,000 to purchase and install a thermal energy storage system so Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida can store more food;
  • $400,000 for roof replacements for Meadow Lake Apartments for the Orlando Housing Authority;
  • $500,000 for community center education space for Shalom Orlando;
  • $255,000 for acquisition and rehabilitation of a vacant two-unit complex to create into affordable housing;
  • $959,752 for stormwater management improvements for Haralson Estates.

 

Congressman Frost will soon embark on a Community Project Funding tour across Central Florida to revisit the sites and projects that will soon receive federal funding.

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Florida’s Jewish Legislative Caucus on Antisemitic Attacks in Broward County

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Florida’s Jewish Lawmakers Show United Front Over Israel’s Right to Defend Itself
Area Representatives Randy Fine and Jennifer "Rita" Harris are members of the Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus

DAVIE, Fla. – In response to recent events effecting the Jewish community of South Florida, Chair of Florida’s Jewish Legislative Caucus, Representative Michael Gottlieb (D- Davie) issued the following statement:

“The South Florida Jewish community is once again the victim of deliberate and cowardly attacks. In recent days, an arsonist set fire to a vehicle at the Las Olas Chabad in Fort Lauderdale, and a violent protest erupted at the Jewish Community Center in Davie. We are deeply saddened and angered by these attacks.

These are just a few of the many examples of the rampant antisemitism that Jews face daily. This is why the Jewish caucus remains vigilant in helping to pass legislation defining antisemitism and creating criminal penalties for antisemitic and racist activities. We condemn this and all hate crimes and remain committed to fighting for Jews in the diaspora to be able to live and worship freely.”

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The Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus

Representative Michael Gottlieb, Chair

Senators

  • Senator Lori Berman
  • Senator Lauren Book
  • Senator Tina Polsky

Representatives

  • Representative Hillary Cassel
  • Representative Randy Fine
  • Representative Peggy Gossett-Seidman
  • Representative Rita Harris
  • Representative David Silvers
  • Representative Kelly Skidmore
  • Representative Allison Tant

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Politics

President Joe Biden on the Volkswagen Plant in Tennessee

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I congratulate the Volkswagen autoworkers in Chattanooga who filed for a union election with the UAW. As one of the world’s largest automakers, many Volkswagen plants internationally are unionized. As the most pro-union president in American history, I believe American workers, too, should have a voice at work. The decision whether to join a union belongs to the workers.

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