{"issues":[{"id":"congress-shenanigans","name":"Congress Shenanigans","slug":"congress-shenanigans","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Congress Shenanigans. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. ","page_title":"Congress Shenanigans Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/congress-shenanigans/black_congress-shenanigans-1429042049.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/congress-shenanigans/grey_congress-shenanigans-1429042049.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/congress-shenanigans/white_congress-shenanigans-1429042049.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"upcoming-bills","name":"Upcoming Bills","slug":"upcoming-bills","description":"Vote on the bills Congress is debating this week. Make your voice heard on the issues you care about. ","page_title":"Upcoming Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/upcoming-bills/black_upcoming-bills-1462816588.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/upcoming-bills/grey_upcoming-bills-1462816588.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/upcoming-bills/white_upcoming-bills-1462816588.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"economy","name":"Economy","slug":"economy","description":"The US Economy is heavily impacted by Federal legislation. Here you can find bills encompassing US monetary policy, the US Federal Budget, overall government spending, appropriations and how we handle the US federal debt and state finances. ","page_title":"Legislation related to the US Economy, monetary policy, the federal budget and government spending - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/economy/black_economy-1429042041.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/economy/grey_economy-1429042041.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/economy/white_economy-1429042041.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"business","name":"Business","slug":"business","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Business. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. ","page_title":"Business Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/business/black_business-1429042053.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/business/grey_business-1429042053.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/business/white_business-1429042053.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"work","name":"Work","slug":"work","description":null,"page_title":null,"icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/work/black_work-1429042040.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/work/grey_work-1429042040.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/work/white_work-1429042040.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"small-business","name":"Small Business","slug":"small-business","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Small Business. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. \r\n","page_title":"Small Business Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/small-business/black_small-business-1429042069.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/small-business/grey_small-business-1429042069.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/small-business/white_small-business-1429042069.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"jobs","name":"Jobs","slug":"jobs","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding employment. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. ","page_title":"Jobs Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/jobs/black_jobs-1429042050.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/jobs/grey_jobs-1429042050.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/jobs/white_jobs-1429042050.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"budgets","name":"Budgets","slug":"budgets","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Budgets. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about.","page_title":"Budgets Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/budgets/black_budgets-1429042067.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/budgets/grey_budgets-1429042067.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/budgets/white_budgets-1429042067.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false}],"articles":[{"title":"IT: 🩹 Senate passes $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, and... Should Gov. Cuomo resign?","id":47045,"slug":"47045-senate-passes-1-9-trillion-covid-relief-bill-gov-cuomo-resign","links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/articles/47045-senate-passes-1-9-trillion-covid-relief-bill-gov-cuomo-resign","article_comments":"/api/articles/47045-senate-passes-1-9-trillion-covid-relief-bill-gov-cuomo-resign/comments","signatures":"/api/v3/articles/47045/signatures?include=user"},"content":"

Welcome to Monday, March 8th, queen and worker bees...

The Senate passed a $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill with zero Republican support.

The Senate approved the package on Saturday by a 50-49 party-line vote

Now, it's back to the House for the America Rescue Plan, where the lower chamber needs to approve the changes made on the other side of the Capitol. That vote is expected on Tuesday.

\"When we took office 45 days ago, I promised the American people that help was on the way,\" President Joe Biden said.

\"Today, I can say we've taken one more giant step forward in delivering on that promise.\"

Here's what's in the bill:

$1,400 stimulus checks
$300-a-week jobless benefits
Child allowance up to $3,600
$350 billion state/local aid
$34 billion for ACA subsidies
$14 billion vaccine distribution
100% COBRA subsidies

Do you support the America Rescue Plan?

Time for Cuomo to Quit?

New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins - the top Democrat in the state - is calling for the resignation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) amidst allegations of sexual harassment and underreporting COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes

\"Every day there is another account that is drawing away from the business of government. We have allegations about sexual harassment, a toxic work environment, the loss of credibility surrounding the COVID-19 nursing home data, and questions about the construction of a major infrastructure project,\" Stewart-Cousins said in a statement.

\"New York is still in the midst of this pandemic and is still facing the societal, health, and economic impacts of it. We need to govern without daily distraction. For the good of the state, Governor Cuomo must resign.\"

Five women have, as of this writing, accused Cuomo of inappropriate behavior.

Do you want to see an independent investigation into sexual harassment claims against Cuomo?

U.S. Economy Adds 379K Jobs

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday released its jobs report for February 2021, which found the U.S. economy added 379,000 jobs and the unemployment declined by 0.1 percentage points to 6.2%. The report exceeds the Dow Jones forecast of 210,000 jobs and a 6.3% unemployment rate.

The gains leave total employment about 9 million jobs or roughly 6% from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020. This USAFacts chart shows the monthly unemployment rate dating back to 2007, which shows a slight improvement from January to February:

Check out more charts here, then join the conversation:

How do you feel about the state of the job market?

And, in the End…

Celebrate, cogitate, and take action in honor of International Women's Day.

—Josh Herman

Talk to us via email at editorial [at] causes.com. And don’t forget to keep in touch @Causes.

","user_id":824038,"cta_prompt":"","cta_type":"contact_reps","cta_text":"","cta_url":"","image_urls":{"large":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/gZAMg8wZ/3f3367/IMPACT%20TODAY%20TAT.png","medium":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/gZAMg8wZ/3f3367/IMPACT%20TODAY%20TAT.png","small":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/gZAMg8wZ/3f3367/IMPACT%20TODAY%20TAT.png","thumb":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/gZAMg8wZ/3f3367/IMPACT%20TODAY%20TAT.png","xsmall":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/gZAMg8wZ/3f3367/IMPACT%20TODAY%20TAT.png"},"profile_id":1,"action_count":136,"html_content":"

by Causes | 3.8.21

Welcome to Monday, March 8th, queen and worker bees...

The Senate passed a $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill with zero Republican support.

The Senate approved the package on Saturday by a 50-49 party-line vote

Now, it's back to the House for the America Rescue Plan, where the lower chamber needs to approve the changes made on the other side of the Capitol. That vote is expected on Tuesday.

\"When we took office 45 days ago, I promised the American people that help was on the way,\" President Joe Biden said.

\"Today, I can say we've taken one more giant step forward in delivering on that promise.\"

Here's what's in the bill:

$1,400 stimulus checks
$300-a-week jobless benefits
Child allowance up to $3,600
$350 billion state/local aid
$34 billion for ACA subsidies
$14 billion vaccine distribution
100% COBRA subsidies

Do you support the America Rescue Plan?

Time for Cuomo to Quit?

\"New York is still in the midst of this pandemic and is still facing the societal, health, and economic impacts of it. We need to govern without daily distraction. For the good of the state, Governor Cuomo must resign.\"

Five women have, as of this writing, accused Cuomo of inappropriate behavior.

Do you want to see an independent investigation into sexual harassment claims against Cuomo?

U.S. Economy Adds 379K Jobs

Check out more charts here, then join the conversation:

How do you feel about the state of the job market?

And, in the End…

Celebrate, cogitate, and take action in honor of International Women's Day.

—Josh Herman

Talk to us via email at editorial [at] causes.com. And don’t forget to keep in touch @Causes.

","comment_count":32,"issue_slugs":[],"created_at":"2021-03-08T02:52:04.678Z","status":"published","snippet":"Welcome to Monday, March 8th, queen and worker bees...The Senate passed a $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill with zero Republican","html_byline":"

by Causes | 3.8.21

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What’s the story?

The Senate on Friday set a new record for the longest vote in the chamber’s history as Democrats struggled to reach a compromise within their caucus on an unemployment benefits amendment to the coronavirus relief package that’s the subject of the ongoing vote-a-rama.
Friday’s record-setting vote was related to an amendment that would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour, and began at 11:03am EST. While all senators cast their votes within the first hour, dooming it to eventual failure on a 42-58 margin, the vote was left open so that Democratic senators could reach a deal on how to amend unemployment benefit provisions in the bill.
The vote closed at 10:53pm EST after 11 hours and 50 minutes ― which is longer than the 10 hours and 43 minutes it took to read the 629 page bill aloud on the floor.
The old record of 10 hours and eight minutes was set in June 2019 when the Senate voted on an amendment to require congressional approval for a strike against Iran. It was held open as long as it was to accommodate senators participating in the Democratic presidential debates and other senators leaving D.C. at the end of the week.

What’s the deal on unemployment benefits?

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) forced Democrats to rework their plan to revise the extension of enhanced unemployment benefits in the package. Under the House bill, the federal enhancement of unemployment benefits would be increased from $300 per week to $400 weekly and expire on August 29, 2021, rather than March 14th as under current law.
The original Democratic amendment was going to be offered by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), which would provide a $300 per week enhancement of unemployment benefits through September 6th and make the first $10,200 of unemployment insurance benefits tax-exempt for all recipients.
Manchin indicated he would support a competing amendment offered by Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), which would provide the $300 per week enhancement of unemployment benefits through July 18th, and that he may also vote for the Carper amendment.
Eventually, Manchin agreed to support a Democratic amendment that would provide a $300 per week enhancement through September 6th. It would also make the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits tax-exempt for households with incomes under $150,000.
The Biden administration signaled that it is supportive of the deal, although it’s unclear where House Democrats stand on the change which could make the chamber’s reconsideration of the package precarious given their slim majority.

― Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: John Brighenti via Flickr / Creative Commons)

","user_id":795,"cta_prompt":"How do you feel about the Senate setting a record for its longest vote ever?","cta_type":"reactions","cta_text":"","cta_url":"","image_urls":{"large":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/akW3yomg/5319ec/45170379825_1522cdcc25_b%20%281%29.jpg","medium":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/akW3yomg/5319ec/45170379825_1522cdcc25_b%20%281%29.jpg","small":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/akW3yomg/5319ec/45170379825_1522cdcc25_b%20%281%29.jpg","thumb":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/akW3yomg/5319ec/45170379825_1522cdcc25_b%20%281%29.jpg","xsmall":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/akW3yomg/5319ec/45170379825_1522cdcc25_b%20%281%29.jpg"},"profile_id":1,"action_count":677,"html_content":"

by Causes | 3.5.21

What’s the story?

The Senate on Friday set a new record for the longest vote in the chamber’s history as Democrats struggled to reach a compromise within their caucus on an unemployment benefits amendment to the coronavirus relief package that’s the subject of the ongoing vote-a-rama.
Friday’s record-setting vote was related to an amendment that would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour, and began at 11:03am EST. While all senators cast their votes within the first hour, dooming it to eventual failure on a 42-58 margin, the vote was left open so that Democratic senators could reach a deal on how to amend unemployment benefit provisions in the bill.
The vote closed at 10:53pm EST after 11 hours and 50 minutes ― which is longer than the 10 hours and 43 minutes it took to read the 629 page bill aloud on the floor.
The old record of 10 hours and eight minutes was set in June 2019 when the Senate voted on an amendment to require congressional approval for a strike against Iran. It was held open as long as it was to accommodate senators participating in the Democratic presidential debates and other senators leaving D.C. at the end of the week.

What’s the deal on unemployment benefits?

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) forced Democrats to rework their plan to revise the extension of enhanced unemployment benefits in the package. Under the House bill, the federal enhancement of unemployment benefits would be increased from $300 per week to $400 weekly and expire on August 29, 2021, rather than March 14th as under current law.
The original Democratic amendment was going to be offered by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), which would provide a $300 per week enhancement of unemployment benefits through September 6th and make the first $10,200 of unemployment insurance benefits tax-exempt for all recipients.
Manchin indicated he would support a competing amendment offered by Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), which would provide the $300 per week enhancement of unemployment benefits through July 18th, and that he may also vote for the Carper amendment.
Eventually, Manchin agreed to support a Democratic amendment that would provide a $300 per week enhancement through September 6th. It would also make the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits tax-exempt for households with incomes under $150,000.
The Biden administration signaled that it is supportive of the deal, although it’s unclear where House Democrats stand on the change which could make the chamber’s reconsideration of the package precarious given their slim majority.

― Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: John Brighenti via Flickr / Creative Commons)

","comment_count":98,"issue_slugs":["congress-shenanigans","upcoming-bills"],"created_at":"2021-03-06T03:11:39.106Z","status":"published","snippet":"What’s the story?\nThe Senate on Friday set a new record for the longest vote in the chamber’s history as Democrats struggled to","html_byline":"

by Causes | 3.5.21

","share_count":2,"reaction_config":[{"icon":"happy","color":"#3AB093","stance":"happy"},{"icon":"apathetic","color":"#EDB723","stance":"apathetic"},{"icon":"sad","color":"#5ACDED","stance":"sad"}],"reaction_config_id":12,"is_countable_article":true,"published_at":"2021-03-06T04:30:39.629Z","allow_advocacy":true,"signed":false,"signatures_count":null,"signatures_goal":100,"signable_progress":0,"video_url":null,"video_dimensions":null,"video_aspect_ratio":null,"formatted_publish_date":"3.5.21","issue_ids":["congress-shenanigans","upcoming-bills"]},{"title":"U.S. Economy Adds 379K Jobs as States Ease Pandemic Restrictions on Restaurants & Bars","id":47038,"slug":"47038-u-s-economy-adds-379k-jobs-states-ease-pandemic-restrictions-restaurants-bars","links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/articles/47038-u-s-economy-adds-379k-jobs-states-ease-pandemic-restrictions-restaurants-bars","article_comments":"/api/articles/47038-u-s-economy-adds-379k-jobs-states-ease-pandemic-restrictions-restaurants-bars/comments","signatures":"/api/v3/articles/47038/signatures?include=user"},"content":"

This content leverages data from USAFacts, a non-profit that visualizes governmental data. You can learn more on its website, Facebook, and Twitter.

What’s the story?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday released its jobs report for February 2021, which found the U.S. economy added 379,000 jobs and the unemployment declined by 0.1 percentage points to 6.2%. The report exceeds the Dow Jones forecast of 210,000 jobs and a 6.3% unemployment rate.
The gains leave total employment about 9 million jobs or roughly 6% from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020. This USAFacts chart shows the monthly unemployment rate dating back to 2007, which shows the slight improvement from January to February:

Jobs Report Sector Breakdown

Leisure and hospitality employment rose by 355,000 jobs as pandemic-related restrictions eased in some parts of the country. The bulk of the increase occurred in food service and drinking places (+286,000). Despite the gains, the sector is down about 3.5 million jobs compared to pre-pandemic levels in early 2020, as the USAFacts chart below shows:

Professional and business services added 53,000 jobs, although the sector is down 175,000 jobs compared to a year ago.
Retail added 41,000 jobs, with gains in general merchandise stores (+14,000), health and personal care stores (+12,000), food and beverage stores (+10,000), although clothing stores saw a decline (-20,000). The sector is about 400,000 jobs compared to March and April 2020, as the USAFacts chart below shows:

Manufacturing gained 21,000 jobs, with much of the gain occurring in transportation equipment (+10,000).
Construction lost 61,000 jobs, most of which came among nonresidential specialty contractors (-37,000), and heavy and civil engineering construction (-21,000). Severe weather around the country impacted February employment in the sector, which is down 308,000 jobs from its level a year ago.
Employment fell in local government education (-37,000) and state government education (-32,000), which partially offset gains in January. The BLS notes that pandemic-related declines distorted the normal seasonality of employment in education, which makes it “challenging to discern the current employment trends in these industries.”

Trends in Unemployment Duration

Roughly 22% of the 10 million Americans who were unemployed in February were on temporary layoff from their work. The share of such workers on temporary layoff has declined as the pandemic drags on from a peak of 78% in April 2020, as the USAFacts chart below shows:

Demographic Unemployment Information

Unemployment rates declined for adult men (to 6.0% from 6.0% in January), adult women (5.9% from 6.0% in January), and teenagers (13.9% from 14.8% in January).
Unemployment rates declined among Asians (to 5.1% from 6.6% in January), whites (5.6% from 5.7% in January), and Hispanics (to 8.5% from 8.6% in January); while it went up for blacks (to 9.9% from 9.2% in January).

Revisions & Data Notes

Employment in January was revised up by 117,000 from +49,000 to +166,000.
Employment in December was revised down by 79,000 from -227,000 to -306,000.
As it has since March, the BLS published an estimate of what the unemployment rate would have been had misclassified workers been included. The misclassification hinges on a question about the main reason people were absent from their jobs, with people absent due to temporary, pandemic-related closures recorded as absent due to “other reasons” as opposed to unemployed due to temporary layoff.
Using this approach, the February unemployment rate would have been 0.5 percentage points higher than reported. The BLS notes that this represents the upper bound of their estimate of misclassification and probably overstates the size of the misclassification error.
According to usual practice at the BLS, data is accepted as recorded in the household survey. To maintain data integrity, no ad hoc actions are taken to reclassify survey responses.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / Phynart Studio)

","user_id":795,"cta_prompt":"How do you feel about the state of the job market?","cta_type":"reactions","cta_text":"","cta_url":"","image_urls":{"large":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/akW3yomg/b09e5d/iStock-1252252723.jpg","medium":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/akW3yomg/b09e5d/iStock-1252252723.jpg","small":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/akW3yomg/b09e5d/iStock-1252252723.jpg","thumb":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/akW3yomg/b09e5d/iStock-1252252723.jpg","xsmall":"https://ul.causes.com/ul/q_auto/uploads/akW3yomg/b09e5d/iStock-1252252723.jpg"},"profile_id":1,"action_count":659,"html_content":"

by Causes | 3.5.21

This content leverages data from USAFacts, a non-profit that visualizes governmental data. You can learn more on its website, Facebook, and Twitter.

What’s the story?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday released its jobs report for February 2021, which found the U.S. economy added 379,000 jobs and the unemployment declined by 0.1 percentage points to 6.2%. The report exceeds the Dow Jones forecast of 210,000 jobs and a 6.3% unemployment rate.
The gains leave total employment about 9 million jobs or roughly 6% from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020. This USAFacts chart shows the monthly unemployment rate dating back to 2007, which shows the slight improvement from January to February:

Jobs Report Sector Breakdown

Leisure and hospitality employment rose by 355,000 jobs as pandemic-related restrictions eased in some parts of the country. The bulk of the increase occurred in food service and drinking places (+286,000). Despite the gains, the sector is down about 3.5 million jobs compared to pre-pandemic levels in early 2020, as the USAFacts chart below shows:

Professional and business services added 53,000 jobs, although the sector is down 175,000 jobs compared to a year ago.
Retail added 41,000 jobs, with gains in general merchandise stores (+14,000), health and personal care stores (+12,000), food and beverage stores (+10,000), although clothing stores saw a decline (-20,000). The sector is about 400,000 jobs compared to March and April 2020, as the USAFacts chart below shows:

Manufacturing gained 21,000 jobs, with much of the gain occurring in transportation equipment (+10,000).
Construction lost 61,000 jobs, most of which came among nonresidential specialty contractors (-37,000), and heavy and civil engineering construction (-21,000). Severe weather around the country impacted February employment in the sector, which is down 308,000 jobs from its level a year ago.
Employment fell in local government education (-37,000) and state government education (-32,000), which partially offset gains in January. The BLS notes that pandemic-related declines distorted the normal seasonality of employment in education, which makes it “challenging to discern the current employment trends in these industries.”

Trends in Unemployment Duration

Roughly 22% of the 10 million Americans who were unemployed in February were on temporary layoff from their work. The share of such workers on temporary layoff has declined as the pandemic drags on from a peak of 78% in April 2020, as the USAFacts chart below shows:

Demographic Unemployment Information

Unemployment rates declined for adult men (to 6.0% from 6.0% in January), adult women (5.9% from 6.0% in January), and teenagers (13.9% from 14.8% in January).
Unemployment rates declined among Asians (to 5.1% from 6.6% in January), whites (5.6% from 5.7% in January), and Hispanics (to 8.5% from 8.6% in January); while it went up for blacks (to 9.9% from 9.2% in January).

Revisions & Data Notes

Employment in January was revised up by 117,000 from +49,000 to +166,000.
Employment in December was revised down by 79,000 from -227,000 to -306,000.
As it has since March, the BLS published an estimate of what the unemployment rate would have been had misclassified workers been included. The misclassification hinges on a question about the main reason people were absent from their jobs, with people absent due to temporary, pandemic-related closures recorded as absent due to “other reasons” as opposed to unemployed due to temporary layoff.
Using this approach, the February unemployment rate would have been 0.5 percentage points higher than reported. The BLS notes that this represents the upper bound of their estimate of misclassification and probably overstates the size of the misclassification error.
According to usual practice at the BLS, data is accepted as recorded in the household survey. To maintain data integrity, no ad hoc actions are taken to reclassify survey responses.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / Phynart Studio)

","comment_count":85,"issue_slugs":["economy","jobs","work","business","small-business"],"created_at":"2021-03-05T22:42:44.517Z","status":"published","snippet":"This content leverages data from USAFacts, a non-profit that visualizes governmental data. You can learn more on its website,","html_byline":"

by Causes | 3.5.21

","share_count":5,"reaction_config":[{"icon":"excited","color":"#EE4950","stance":"excited"},{"icon":"happy","color":"#EDB723","stance":"happy"},{"icon":"apathetic","color":"#3AB093","stance":"apathetic"},{"icon":"sad","color":"#5ACDED","stance":"sad"},{"icon":"angry","color":"#624960","stance":"angry"}],"reaction_config_id":1,"is_countable_article":true,"published_at":"2021-03-05T22:45:45.338Z","allow_advocacy":true,"signed":false,"signatures_count":null,"signatures_goal":100,"signable_progress":0,"video_url":null,"video_dimensions":null,"video_aspect_ratio":null,"formatted_publish_date":"3.5.21","issue_ids":["economy","business","work","small-business","jobs"]},{"title":"Senate COVID Vote-a-Rama Part II: $15 Minimum Wage Rejected, Unemployment Benefits Revised","id":47036,"slug":"47036-senate-covid-vote-rama-part-ii-15-minimum-wage-rejected-unemployment-benefits-revised","links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/articles/47036-senate-covid-vote-rama-part-ii-15-minimum-wage-rejected-unemployment-benefits-revised","article_comments":"/api/articles/47036-senate-covid-vote-rama-part-ii-15-minimum-wage-rejected-unemployment-benefits-revised/comments","signatures":"/api/v3/articles/47036/signatures?include=user"},"content":"

What’s the story?

The Senate on Friday morning began its second “vote-a-rama” of the year as it continues the consideration of Democrats’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus (COVID-19) relief package. The voting is expected to continue for many hours, as some Republican senators are hoping to keep the process going well into the weekend by proposing hundreds of amendments and any amendment proposed in a vote-a-rama can receive a vote if the sponsor requests it.
Unlike the first vote-a-rama, in which amendments approved during the 15 hours of deliberation were non-binding and wiped out by a substitute amendment to the budget resolution at the end of the process, amendment votes which are approved during this vote-a-rama will be included in the bill as heads to final passage in the Senate.
Amendments that are considered germane to the relief bill require a simple majority to be adopted, while those which require procedural rules to be waived will require 60 votes for adoption. Once the amendment votes conclude, the Senate will vote on final passage with a simple majority required, and the revised bill will go back to the House for another vote.
We’ll track the major amendment votes from the vote-a-rama below in order of most recent.

AMENDMENT VOTES

Corrections, State and Local Aid, Plus Workers Compensation - Schumer #1398 to #891: Offered by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), this amendment would make corrections to the underlying legislation, including requiring workers’ compensation for federal workers who contract COVID-19 regardless of how they got sick, and adding an additional $10 billion in funding for state and local governments, while preserving amendments adopted during the vote-a-rama. Agreed to by voice vote.

Reimbursing Federal Contractors - Warner #1391: Offered by Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), this amendment would reimburse classified federal contractors through the end of fiscal year 2021. Agreed to 93-6.

Services for Homeless Youth - Murkowski #1233: Offered by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), this amendment would use $800 million of the bill’s funding for elementary and secondary schools to identify and provide homeless children and youth with services in light of COVID-19. Agreed to by voice vote.

Barring Unauthorized Immigrants From Getting Stimulus Checks - Cruz #968: Offered by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), this amendment would prohibit unauthorized immigrants from receiving stimulus checks. Not agreed to 49-50.

School Choice - Cruz #969: Offered by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), this amendment would allow students and their families to attend the school of their choice with funding following the student. Not agreed to 49-50.

Prohibiting Taxpayer Funding of Abortion - Lankford #1031: Offered by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), this amendment would add Hyde Amendment language to the bill that prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion. Not agreed to 52-47 (60 votes required).

Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Joe Manchin (D-WV) joined Republicans in voting in favor of this amendment.

Keystone XL Pipeline - Tester #1197: Offered by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), this amendment would allow the construction of the currently halted Keystone XL pipeline. Not agreed to 51-48 (60 votes required).

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT) joined Republicans in voting in favor of this amendment.

State and Local Funding Allocations - Graham #1369: Offered by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), this amendment would change how the $350 billion in funding for state and local governments is allocated by returning it to the bipartisan CARES Act formula. Not agreed to 48-51.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) joined Democrats in voting against this amendment.

Report on Planning to Reopen Schools for In-Person Instruction - Hassan #1344: Offered by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), this amendment would require educational agencies to produce a report within 30 days of receiving funding about how they will safely reopen for in-person instruction. The report would be made publicly available and open to public comment. Agreed to 51-48.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) joined Democrats by voting in favor.

Conditioning School Funding on Reopening - Rubio #1026: Offered by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), this amendment would distribute funding to schools based on the number of days they’re open for in-person learning to incentivize reopening as fully as possible and require schools to open at least half of the time for half of the students. Not adopted 48-51.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined Democrats in opposing this amendment.

Revising Enhanced Unemployment Benefits - Wyden #1372: Offered by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), this amendment would reduce the federal enhancement of unemployment benefits from $400 per week to $300 per week; extend the enhancement for an extra week from August 29th to September 6th; and make the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits tax-exempt for households with incomes under $150,000. Adopted 50-49.

This amendment supersedes the Portman amendment adopted earlier in the vote-a-rama.

Nursing Home COVID Death Data Transparency - Scott #1030: Offered by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), this amendment would condition funding for state strike teams for resident and employee safety in nursing homes unless a state reports data about nursing home deaths due to COVID-19. Not adopted 49-50.

$650 Billion Substitute - Collins #1242: Offered by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), this amendment would reduce the total amount of spending in the package from $1.9 trillion to $650 billion, which would feature more closely targeted relief payments to individuals and families along with funding for reopening schools. Not agreed to 48-51 (60 votes required).

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) joined all Democrats in opposing this amendment.

Reducing Unemployment Enhancement - Portman #1092: Offered by Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), this amendment would reduce the $400 per week enhancement of unemployment benefits that runs through August 29th to $300 per week through July 18th. Agreed to 50-49.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) joined Republicans in voting for this amendment, although he is also expected to vote for a similar amendment offered by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) or Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) later in the process that will supersede this amendment.
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), who was in attendance for the initial vote on the minimum wage amendment Friday morning, had to leave D.C. to return to Alaska in time for his father-in-law's funeral.

Raising the Minimum Wage to $15 an Hour - Sanders #972: Offered by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), this amendment would gradually raise the federal minimum wage each year to $15 per hour in 2025, in addition to merging the tipped minimum wage and youth subminimum wage with the standard minimum wage. Not adopted 42-58 (60 votes required).

All Republicans were joined by Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Angus King (I-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Jon Tester (D-MT) in voting no.
This vote remained open for 11 hours and 50 minutes ― which makes it the longest vote in Senate history ― while Democrats struggled to reach an internal compromise on unemployment benefits. Votes during a vote-a-rama are supposed to close after 10 minutes.

UPCOMING AMENDMENTS

None.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Capitol: iStock.com / erick4x4)

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by Causes | 3.6.21

What’s the story?

The Senate on Friday morning began its second “vote-a-rama” of the year as it continues the consideration of Democrats’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus (COVID-19) relief package. The voting is expected to continue for many hours, as some Republican senators are hoping to keep the process going well into the weekend by proposing hundreds of amendments and any amendment proposed in a vote-a-rama can receive a vote if the sponsor requests it.
Unlike the first vote-a-rama, in which amendments approved during the 15 hours of deliberation were non-binding and wiped out by a substitute amendment to the budget resolution at the end of the process, amendment votes which are approved during this vote-a-rama will be included in the bill as heads to final passage in the Senate.
Amendments that are considered germane to the relief bill require a simple majority to be adopted, while those which require procedural rules to be waived will require 60 votes for adoption. Once the amendment votes conclude, the Senate will vote on final passage with a simple majority required, and the revised bill will go back to the House for another vote.
We’ll track the major amendment votes from the vote-a-rama below in order of most recent.

AMENDMENT VOTES

Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Joe Manchin (D-WV) joined Republicans in voting in favor of this amendment.

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT) joined Republicans in voting in favor of this amendment.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) joined Democrats in voting against this amendment.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) joined Democrats by voting in favor.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined Democrats in opposing this amendment.

This amendment supersedes the Portman amendment adopted earlier in the vote-a-rama.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) joined all Democrats in opposing this amendment.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) joined Republicans in voting for this amendment, although he is also expected to vote for a similar amendment offered by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) or Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) later in the process that will supersede this amendment.
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), who was in attendance for the initial vote on the minimum wage amendment Friday morning, had to leave D.C. to return to Alaska in time for his father-in-law's funeral.

All Republicans were joined by Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Angus King (I-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Jon Tester (D-MT) in voting no.
This vote remained open for 11 hours and 50 minutes ― which makes it the longest vote in Senate history ― while Democrats struggled to reach an internal compromise on unemployment benefits. Votes during a vote-a-rama are supposed to close after 10 minutes.

UPCOMING AMENDMENTS

None.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Capitol: iStock.com / erick4x4)

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by Causes | 3.6.21

","share_count":11,"reaction_config":[{"icon":"excited","color":"#EE4950","stance":"excited"},{"icon":"happy","color":"#EDB723","stance":"happy"},{"icon":"apathetic","color":"#3AB093","stance":"apathetic"},{"icon":"sad","color":"#5ACDED","stance":"sad"},{"icon":"angry","color":"#624960","stance":"angry"}],"reaction_config_id":1,"is_countable_article":true,"published_at":"2021-03-06T17:08:01.382Z","allow_advocacy":true,"signed":false,"signatures_count":null,"signatures_goal":100,"signable_progress":0,"video_url":null,"video_dimensions":null,"video_aspect_ratio":null,"formatted_publish_date":"3.6.21","issue_ids":["congress-shenanigans","upcoming-bills","budgets"]},{"title":"IT: Live read of Dem's $1.9T COVID relief package, and... 🏛 Should the Capitol add an RBG monument?","id":47035,"slug":"47035-live-read-dem-s-1-9t-covid-relief-package-capitol-add-rbg-monument","links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/articles/47035-live-read-dem-s-1-9t-covid-relief-package-capitol-add-rbg-monument","article_comments":"/api/articles/47035-live-read-dem-s-1-9t-covid-relief-package-capitol-add-rbg-monument/comments","signatures":"/api/v3/articles/47035/signatures?include=user"},"content":"

Welcome to Friday, March 5th, As to Zs...

Former Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao is accused of abusing her power to help her family and her family’s business and charitable interests, according to an Inspector General's report.

$\"Article$

Investigators from the Transportation Department’s (DOT) internal watchdog referred the case to the Justice Department for prosecution in December, asking Trump's DOJ to criminally investigate Chao.

“A formal investigation into potential misuses of position was warranted,” deputy inspector general Mitch Behm wrote in a letter to lawmakers released Wednesday.

However, the review found no “factual basis” for investigating whether Chao awarded federal grants to benefit Kentucky, which her husband, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, represents in the Senate.

Should Chao be prosecuted?

COVID-19 Relief Package Live Read

Senators and interested members of the general public have the opportunity to listen to a reading of Democrats’ 628-page substitute amendment to the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package while the chamber is in session Thursday, and perhaps into Friday morning.

The reading comes at the request of Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) who said:

$\"Article$

Whenever the reading of the bill ends, the Senate will begin up to 20 hours of debate on the package.

How do you feel about the bill being read aloud on the Senate floor?

RBG Monument

Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation to build a monument to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg on Capitol Hill.

$\"Article$

Many regard Justice Ginsberg, who passed in 2020, as a feminist icon for her work on gender discrimination as co-founder of the Women's Rights Project at the ACLU.

Do you support building a monument to RBG?

And, in the End…

Poutine on the ritz for National Poutine Day.

How good can poutine be? I once travelled from L.A. to Toronto just to get vegan poutine. Was it worth the trip? Oh, my, no. But if you haven't tried the Canadian delicacy - fries smothered in gravy and topped with cheese curds - head to the great white north today,

—Josh Herman

Talk to us via email at editorial [at] causes.com. And don’t forget to keep in touch @Causes.

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by Causes | 3.5.21

Welcome to Friday, March 5th, As to Zs...

Former Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao is accused of abusing her power to help her family and her family’s business and charitable interests, according to an Inspector General's report.

$\"Article$

“A formal investigation into potential misuses of position was warranted,” deputy inspector general Mitch Behm wrote in a letter to lawmakers released Wednesday.

Should Chao be prosecuted?

COVID-19 Relief Package Live Read

The reading comes at the request of Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) who said:

$\"Article$

Whenever the reading of the bill ends, the Senate will begin up to 20 hours of debate on the package.

How do you feel about the bill being read aloud on the Senate floor?

RBG Monument

Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation to build a monument to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg on Capitol Hill.

$\"Article$

Many regard Justice Ginsberg, who passed in 2020, as a feminist icon for her work on gender discrimination as co-founder of the Women's Rights Project at the ACLU.

Do you support building a monument to RBG?

And, in the End…

Poutine on the ritz for National Poutine Day.

—Josh Herman

Talk to us via email at editorial [at] causes.com. And don’t forget to keep in touch @Causes.

","comment_count":10,"issue_slugs":[],"created_at":"2021-03-05T02:07:48.250Z","status":"published","snippet":"Welcome to Friday, March 5th, As to Zs...Former Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao is accused of abusing her power to help","html_byline":"

by Causes | 3.5.21

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UPDATE 3/5/21

After 10 hours and 43 minutes of reading and numerous rotations, the Senate clerks completed the reading of Democrats' 628 page, $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
Rather than beginning 20 hours of debate, the Senate yielded back all but 3 of those hours and will commence the \"vote-a-rama\" on amendments around noon on Friday.

What’s the story?

Senators and interested members of the general public have the opportunity to listen to a reading of Democrats’ 628 page substitute amendment to the $1.9 trillion coronavirus (COVID-19) relief package while the chamber is in session Thursday, and perhaps into Friday morning.
The reading comes at the request of Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) who said, “I feel bad for the clerks that are going to have to read it, but it’s just important.” He added:

“So often, we rush these massive bills that are hundreds if not thousands of pages long. You don’t have time, nobody has time to read them. So, you start considering something you haven’t even read. At a minimum, somebody ought to read it and this will give everybody time.”

The Senate’s floor proceedings are broadcast live on C-SPAN2, so you can check in on the reading there.

How did the reading come about?

By rule, a bill is read three times in the Senate before a vote on its passage occurs, but ordinarily, the senator managing the floor debate asks for unanimous consent that the reading be dispensed with and no senators object.
The same holds true for amendments to a bill, in this case, a substitute amendment that replaces the entire legislative text of the House-passed version of the package.
The reading continues until the clerks finish reading the legislation, however long it takes, or the senator(s) who initiated the reading don’t object to a unanimous consent request that the reading be dispensed with.
This isn’t the first time in the modern era that senators have forced legislation to be read aloud on the floor. The most recent example occurred in December 2017, when Democrats forced the reading of Republicans’ 185 page tax reform package, which eventually became the last bill to be enacted through the reconciliation process.

How long is the reading expected to take?

Initial projections of the reading time ranged from about 5 hours to 10 hours.
The reading began at 3:21pm EST, and after two hours of reading the rotation of clerks have powered through 98 pages of legislative text. That puts them on pace to complete the entire bill in just under 13 hours.

What’s next in the debate?

Whenever the reading of the bill ends, the Senate will begin up to 20 hours of debate on the package.
After that debate period concludes or senators yield back time, the Senate will begin a “vote-a-rama” in which the chamber votes continuously on amendments offered by senators.
The last vote-a-rama lasted about 15 hours, although Johnson and other Republicans are planning a bid to continue the voting for multiple days.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Johnson: Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons)

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by Causes | 3.5.21

UPDATE 3/5/21

After 10 hours and 43 minutes of reading and numerous rotations, the Senate clerks completed the reading of Democrats' 628 page, $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
Rather than beginning 20 hours of debate, the Senate yielded back all but 3 of those hours and will commence the \"vote-a-rama\" on amendments around noon on Friday.

What’s the story?

Senators and interested members of the general public have the opportunity to listen to a reading of Democrats’ 628 page substitute amendment to the $1.9 trillion coronavirus (COVID-19) relief package while the chamber is in session Thursday, and perhaps into Friday morning.
The reading comes at the request of Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) who said, “I feel bad for the clerks that are going to have to read it, but it’s just important.” He added:

“So often, we rush these massive bills that are hundreds if not thousands of pages long. You don’t have time, nobody has time to read them. So, you start considering something you haven’t even read. At a minimum, somebody ought to read it and this will give everybody time.”

The Senate’s floor proceedings are broadcast live on C-SPAN2, so you can check in on the reading there.

How did the reading come about?

By rule, a bill is read three times in the Senate before a vote on its passage occurs, but ordinarily, the senator managing the floor debate asks for unanimous consent that the reading be dispensed with and no senators object.
The same holds true for amendments to a bill, in this case, a substitute amendment that replaces the entire legislative text of the House-passed version of the package.
The reading continues until the clerks finish reading the legislation, however long it takes, or the senator(s) who initiated the reading don’t object to a unanimous consent request that the reading be dispensed with.
This isn’t the first time in the modern era that senators have forced legislation to be read aloud on the floor. The most recent example occurred in December 2017, when Democrats forced the reading of Republicans’ 185 page tax reform package, which eventually became the last bill to be enacted through the reconciliation process.

How long is the reading expected to take?

Initial projections of the reading time ranged from about 5 hours to 10 hours.
The reading began at 3:21pm EST, and after two hours of reading the rotation of clerks have powered through 98 pages of legislative text. That puts them on pace to complete the entire bill in just under 13 hours.

What’s next in the debate?

Whenever the reading of the bill ends, the Senate will begin up to 20 hours of debate on the package.
After that debate period concludes or senators yield back time, the Senate will begin a “vote-a-rama” in which the chamber votes continuously on amendments offered by senators.
The last vote-a-rama lasted about 15 hours, although Johnson and other Republicans are planning a bid to continue the voting for multiple days.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Johnson: Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons)

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by Causes | 3.5.21

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