6 min
Politics for Dummies Ep 2: So Wait, Am I Getting Money Or Not? Politics for Dummies
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- Noticias
Episode Notes
Note: Since the filming of this podcast, the stimulus package has been passed by the Senate, and now is going back to the House of Representatives for final approval.
[00:00] [Intro Music]
[00:11] Jimmy: Hello! Welcome back to NBN politics. For those of you that don’t want to scroll through 1,000 Google pages on the latest political news, we’re here to give you the Sparknotes version.
[00:25] I’m Jimmy.
[00:26] Ali: And I’m Ali.
[00:27] Jimmy: And we’re your co-hosts. This week we are diving into the third, and most recent stimulus package! Will we be getting the stimulus checks everyone’s been talking about?
[00:35] Ali: The House just passed a $1.9 trillion stimulus package called the American Rescue Plan to help families that are struggling because of COVID-19.
[00:45] The bill includes a child tax credit, which basically means families could receive over $3,000 from the IRS per child.
[00:50] It also includes housing assistance, where $30 billion is being invested in helping people pay their rent, and another $5 billion to prevent COVID outbreaks in homeless communities. But, it doesn’t extend the national eviction moratorium, which temporarily stopped landlords from evicting tenants during the pandemic.
[01:08] The bill includes a third stimulus payment for $1,400, and this time adult dependents can get one too. College students? You get money! People with disabilities who are dependents? You get money! Elderly dependents? You too get money!
[01:24] But, it's not as much money as Biden promised. On the campaign trail, Biden was promising $2,000 dollar stimulus checks.
[01:30] In unveiling the plan, Biden said, “We will finish the job of getting a total of $2,000 in cash relief to people who need it the most.” Some argue that the $1,400 is a supplement to the $600 payments given out in January, but some congressional democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cory Booker are calling Biden out on Twitter for not actually holding up his promises.
[01:55] The American Rescue plan also includes unemployment insurance, so unemployed people get $400 a week. And, it extends key unemployment programs until August 29. It includes $20 billion for a COVID vaccine program, and $50 billion for testing.
[02:09] Basically, you’re getting money. But, the amount of money you’re getting may vary based on your income. The good thing is, there’s a bunch of calculators and things online to help you find out how much you might be getting. It’s just a Google search away.
[02:20] Now the question is: when is the bill going to be enacted? What happens next? What exactly is the process for enacting a bill like this?
[2:27] Jimmy: The bill first went to the House of Representatives, where it passed by 219-212 votes. All Republicans, along with two Democrats, voted against the bill.
[02:38] The Democrats also tried to include a minimum wage bill in the stimulus package. If this bill was passed, it would increase the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour, which is more than double the current minimum wage.
[02:52] Now, including the bill in the stimulus package would make it much easier to pass because it would only require a simple majority of votes, which is 50 or more senators of the 100 person Senate. The process that is usually required for passing legislation would’ve required 60 votes instead.
[03:08] However, this minimum wage bill was struck down before it could be voted on in the Senate. The Senate parliamentarian, whose job is to help interpret the rules and precedents in the Senate, ruled that the bill could not be included in the stimulus package because it does not have a big enough impact on the budget.
[03:23] Lawmakers will start the process of amending, or making changes to, the stimulus bill. They will debate about bill details before the bill moves to the Senate for a vote.
[03:32] Now a key date in mind is March 14 because that’s the day federal unemployment benefits e
Episode Notes
Note: Since the filming of this podcast, the stimulus package has been passed by the Senate, and now is going back to the House of Representatives for final approval.
[00:00] [Intro Music]
[00:11] Jimmy: Hello! Welcome back to NBN politics. For those of you that don’t want to scroll through 1,000 Google pages on the latest political news, we’re here to give you the Sparknotes version.
[00:25] I’m Jimmy.
[00:26] Ali: And I’m Ali.
[00:27] Jimmy: And we’re your co-hosts. This week we are diving into the third, and most recent stimulus package! Will we be getting the stimulus checks everyone’s been talking about?
[00:35] Ali: The House just passed a $1.9 trillion stimulus package called the American Rescue Plan to help families that are struggling because of COVID-19.
[00:45] The bill includes a child tax credit, which basically means families could receive over $3,000 from the IRS per child.
[00:50] It also includes housing assistance, where $30 billion is being invested in helping people pay their rent, and another $5 billion to prevent COVID outbreaks in homeless communities. But, it doesn’t extend the national eviction moratorium, which temporarily stopped landlords from evicting tenants during the pandemic.
[01:08] The bill includes a third stimulus payment for $1,400, and this time adult dependents can get one too. College students? You get money! People with disabilities who are dependents? You get money! Elderly dependents? You too get money!
[01:24] But, it's not as much money as Biden promised. On the campaign trail, Biden was promising $2,000 dollar stimulus checks.
[01:30] In unveiling the plan, Biden said, “We will finish the job of getting a total of $2,000 in cash relief to people who need it the most.” Some argue that the $1,400 is a supplement to the $600 payments given out in January, but some congressional democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cory Booker are calling Biden out on Twitter for not actually holding up his promises.
[01:55] The American Rescue plan also includes unemployment insurance, so unemployed people get $400 a week. And, it extends key unemployment programs until August 29. It includes $20 billion for a COVID vaccine program, and $50 billion for testing.
[02:09] Basically, you’re getting money. But, the amount of money you’re getting may vary based on your income. The good thing is, there’s a bunch of calculators and things online to help you find out how much you might be getting. It’s just a Google search away.
[02:20] Now the question is: when is the bill going to be enacted? What happens next? What exactly is the process for enacting a bill like this?
[2:27] Jimmy: The bill first went to the House of Representatives, where it passed by 219-212 votes. All Republicans, along with two Democrats, voted against the bill.
[02:38] The Democrats also tried to include a minimum wage bill in the stimulus package. If this bill was passed, it would increase the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour, which is more than double the current minimum wage.
[02:52] Now, including the bill in the stimulus package would make it much easier to pass because it would only require a simple majority of votes, which is 50 or more senators of the 100 person Senate. The process that is usually required for passing legislation would’ve required 60 votes instead.
[03:08] However, this minimum wage bill was struck down before it could be voted on in the Senate. The Senate parliamentarian, whose job is to help interpret the rules and precedents in the Senate, ruled that the bill could not be included in the stimulus package because it does not have a big enough impact on the budget.
[03:23] Lawmakers will start the process of amending, or making changes to, the stimulus bill. They will debate about bill details before the bill moves to the Senate for a vote.
[03:32] Now a key date in mind is March 14 because that’s the day federal unemployment benefits e
6 min