Congress

A group of Senate Democrats is urging President Biden to support recurring stimulus checks for low-income Americans as part of his nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package.

Democrats’ hopes of including a minimum wage increase in their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill seemed all but dead Monday as the Senate prepared to debate its own version of the House-passed aid package.

An artificial intelligence commission led by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is urging the U.S. to boost its AI skills to counter China, including by pursuing “AI-enabled” weapons – something that Google itself has shied away from on ethical grounds.

The U.S. Senate will start moving on the $1.9 billion coronavirus relief package proposed by President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday.

House Democrats passed a nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill on a mostly party-line vote early Saturday.

Progressive lawmakers are pushing the White House to override a decision last week by the Senate parliamentarian and include a federal minimum wage increase in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-Ga., is urging President Biden to require all personal protective equipment (PPE) to be made in the U.S. as part of an effort to avoid shortages. 

The plan, introduced last week by Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden and Senate Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders, included tax penalties on large corporations that fail to pay $15 an hour and incentives for the "smallest of small businesses" to encourage them to raise their wages.

In a last ditch effort to counter the $1.9 trillion coronavirus package passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in the early hours Saturday morning, frustrated Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar submitted an amendment that slashed non relief spending and offered $10,000 stimulus checks instead.

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Friday, but even if the latest coronavirus relief package makes its way to the president’s desk in the coming weeks, not all states can expect a bump in assistance.

The $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed by the House early Saturday includes more than $100 million for a public transit expansion in California -- over the objections of some Republicans.

Congressional Democrats are plowing ahead with passing a nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill that could provide a substantial financial boost to some American families. 

President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill could automatically trigger billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare and other federal programs, according to new findings published by the Congressional Budget Office.