Trump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money

December 28, 2020 KANKENNEWS

President TrumpDonald TrumpGeorgia Senate candidate Ossoff backs Trump’s call for K checks White House wishes Birx well after she announces retirement Pelosi responds to Trump: Let’s push for K checks ‘this week’ MORE on Tuesday evening blasted Congress over the already-passed COVID-19 relief package and called on both chambers to send him a new bill increasing stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000.

The president expressed dismay with the $2.3 trillion package that Congress passed Monday, which includes $900 billion in coronavirus relief and $1.4 trillion to fund the government until October, conflating the two bills and saying the spending goals were misguided.

“A few months ago, Congress started negotiations on a new package to get urgently needed help to the American people. It’s taken forever. However, the bill they are now planning to send back to my desk is much different than anticipated. It really is a disgrace,” Trump said in a video posted to Twitter.

“Despite all of this wasteful spending and much more, the $900 billion package provides hardworking taxpayers with only $600 each in relief payments, and not enough money is given to small businesses, and in particular restaurants, whose owners have suffered so grievously,” he added.

The bill includes special terms for restaurants and hotels to access larger loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, a move praised by the National Restaurant Association. It does not include the Restaurants Act, a bill the restaurant industry had pushed for earlier that would have set aside $120 billion in funds for restaurants or bars with fewer than 20 locations.

Trump cited a slew of provisions from the government funding bill as wasteful add-ons to the COVID-19 package, including $85.5 million for assistance to Cambodia and $40 million for the Kennedy Center in Washington. He also falsely claimed that the bill provided more stimulus funds for noncitizens than citizens.

The COVID-19 relief bill prevented undocumented immigrants from receiving stimulus checks but did allow mixed-status households to receive the checks. In such households, only the citizen adult and the children would receive funds.

Trump did not explicitly threaten to veto the package, which passed both chambers with overwhelming, veto-proof majorities. If he vetoes or opts not to sign the bill by Monday at midnight, the government will shut down and several key unemployment benefits will expire.

The federal government is currently funded through Dec. 28 as part of a stopgap bill.

House Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiPelosi responds to Trump: Let’s push for K checks ‘this week’ Trump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money On The Money: Relief bill’s passage sets off scramble to declare victory, assign blame | Democrats say more COVID-19 relief needed after current measure becomes law | Biden economic adviser expects ‘very challenged’ economy early next year MORE (D-Calif.), who spent months pushing for a larger COVID-19 relief bill in the face of GOP opposition, quickly responded to the tweet, saying she was in full support of increasing the size of the stimulus checks.

“Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks. At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 — Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it!” Pelosi tweeted.

House Majority Leader Steny HoyerSteny Hamilton HoyerTrump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money Omnibus doesn’t block Trump order allowing burrowing of political appointees Congress passes one-day stopgap bill ahead of shutdown deadline MORE (D-Md.) indicated that the response was not merely rhetorical and that the House would offer a bill increasing stimulus checks to $2,000 using unanimous consent, daring Republicans to bring down the bill by objecting during a Christmas Eve pro forma session.

The issue could play a role in the hotly contested Georgia Senate runoffs scheduled for Jan. 6, which will determine control of the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerPelosi responds to Trump: Let’s push for K checks ‘this week’ Slim majority of Democrats in new poll say Pelosi should retain Speakership Growing number of lawmakers decline early access to COVID-19 vaccine MORE (D-N.Y.) urged Trump to sign the bill at hand, suggesting that more aid could be added later.

“Trump needs to sign the bill to help people and keep the government open and we’re glad to pass more aid Americans need,” he tweeted.

The Hill has reached out to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellPelosi responds to Trump: Let’s push for K checks ‘this week’ Trump attacks Thune: ‘He will be primaried in 2022’ Trump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money MORE (R-Ky.) for comment.

Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamTrump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money Graham responds to ‘clueless’ Biden: ‘It’s not personal’ Congress to pass deal with 0 stimulus checks MORE (R-S.C.), a top Trump ally in Congress, urged the president on Tuesday night to quickly sign the COVID-19 relief bill, even if it is imperfect.

“The #COVID19 package, while imperfect, will save jobs and lives. The sooner the bill becomes law – the better,” he wrote on Twitter.

Trump, who was largely absent from negotiations over the COVID-19 bill in the aftermath of his election loss, reportedly planned to issue a similar statement calling for larger checks as talks neared their end last week, according to The Washington Post.

Congressional Republicans, who insisted that the relief bill remain under $1 trillion, reportedly talked him out of the idea, warning that it would blow up the talks as they neared their deadline.

Trump instead Tweeted out that “stimulus talks [are] looking very good.”

Trump’s request comes after Congress has already left town for the Christmas holiday. The Senate is due to return on Dec. 29, a day after government funding is set to expire, in order to override a possible veto on another bill with strong bipartisan backing: the National Defense Authorization Act.

The key defense legislation has passed and been signed into law every year for the last 59 years.

Trump released the video Tuesday night calling on Congress to send him a new bill as his administration announced that he had granted clemency to three former GOP congressmen along with two people charged as part of former special counsel Robert MuellerRobert (Bob) MuellerBarr taps attorney investigating Russia probe origins as special counsel CNN’s Toobin warns McCabe is in ‘perilous condition’ with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting MORE‘s investigation.

Those granted a pardon included George PapadopoulosGeorge Demetrios PapadopoulosTrump pardons George Papadopoulos in latest batch of pardons Trump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money Trump pardons individuals charged in Russia probe, ex-GOP lawmakers MORE, who served as a foreign policy adviser to Trump’s campaign in 2016 and pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators as part of Mueller’s Russia probe; former GOP Rep. Duncan HunterDuncan HunterTrump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money Trump pardons individuals charged in Russia probe, ex-GOP lawmakers Issa defeats Campa-Najjar in California House race MORE (Calif.), who pleaded guilty last year to misusing campaign funds; former GOP Rep. Chris CollinsChristopher (Chris) Carl CollinsTrump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money Trump pardons individuals charged in Russia probe, ex-GOP lawmakers A Biden strategy for genuine global health security MORE (N.Y.), who pleaded guilty in 2019 to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and lying to the FBI; and former GOP Rep. Steve StockmanStephen (Steve) Ernest StockmanTrump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money Trump pardons individuals charged in Russia probe, ex-GOP lawmakers Inmates break windows, set fires in riot at Kansas prison MORE (Texas), who was convicted in 2018 of money laundering, conspiracy and other charges.

Updated: 9:39 p.m.

France slowly allowing passengers, freight from UK to enter

December 28, 2020 KANKENNEWS

A ban on crossings at the border between France and the United Kingdom as a result of a new strain of COVID-19 spreading in the southern U.K. was relaxed on Wednesday but still threatens to limit access to fresh food across Britain.

Reuters and The Associated Press reported that French authorities agreed to allow British drivers who test negative for COVID-19 into the country, but noted that the two-day freeze of crossings from Britain to France had resulted in a massive backlog near the town of Dover, the prime crossing point, which was causing massive delays on both sides of the border.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had spoken to French President Emmanuel MacronEmmanuel Jean-Michel MacronFrance to fast-track 700 front-line workers for citizenship as reward for risk EU executive calls on members to lift travel restrictions on UK Trump wishes Macron a ‘speedy recovery’ following coronavirus diagnosis MORE seeking to resolve the issue.

Major grocery store chains such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s were warning customers of the potential for fresh food shortages as a result of the backlog, the news services reported, while thousands of trucks remained in line to be processed at the Dover crossing.

“It is good news for consumers as the French borders have now reopened, however it is essential that lorries get moving across the border as quickly as possible,” said Andrew Opie, head of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium (BRC), in a statement to Reuters about the backlog.

“Until the backlog is cleared and supply chains return to normal, we anticipate issues with the availability of some fresh goods,” Opie continued.

British authorities moved to shutter shops and businesses across the country and implement other new COVID-19 restrictions in the face of a new strain of the virus which experts believe can spread more easily due to its higher viral load.

A number of countries including the member-states of the European Union moved to suspend incoming travel from the U.K. in response.

Biden builds team to get aggressive on regs

December 28, 2020 KANKENNEWS

Biden will face a divided Senate when he takes office that could be controlled by Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellTrump criticizes Senate Republicans ahead of election results vote, urges a ‘fight’ Biden faces fight with Congress for more coronavirus relief COVID-19 could complicate Pelosi’s path to Speaker next year MORE (R-Ky.) depending on the outcome of two Jan. 5 runoff elections in Georgia.

This will make moving legislation difficult, and will almost certainly force Biden to lean on executive actions and regulatory work — both to accomplish his own agenda and dismantle President TrumpDonald TrumpPost office to be named after oldest Pearl Harbor veteran Federal agents search residence in Antioch in connection with Nashville explosion Sunday shows preview: COVID-19 relief waiting on Trump’s signature; government continues vaccine roll out MORE’s.

“There is not an area of our life the regulation doesn’t touch and when progress in Congress is stifled because of gridlock or partisan differences, president after president has turned to regulation, and Biden will be no different,” said Stuart Shapiro, a Rutgers University professor who worked in the Office of Management and Budget under the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations.

Biden has already drawn in experts with deep government and regulatory backgrounds to head some of his agencies. Many of those who will serve in his White House or broader administration have worked in multiple previous administrations.

They include Gina McCarthyRegina (Gina) McCarthyOVERNIGHT ENERGY: EPA declines to tighten air quality standard for smog | Green groups sue over Trump bid to open Alaska’s Tongass forest to logging EPA declines to tighten air quality standard for smog In massive energy investments, some see just a start MORE, a former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator responsible for a number of Obama-era rules, who will serve as a domestic climate czar tapped to oversee the numerous departments that will play a hand in addressing Trump’s numerous environmental rollbacks.

There’s also Xavier BecerraXavier BecerraNewsom taps Shirley Weber to serve as California secretary of state McConnell vows to hold votes on Biden’s Cabinet picks Mnuchin says he has spoken with Biden Treasury nominee Yellen MORE, who as California’s attorney general led the fight against Trump’s rollbacks to ObamaCare and if confirmed will head the Department of Health and Human Services.

Michael ReganMichael ReganBiden builds team to get aggressive on regs Biden: Federal government ‘has long-broken promises to Native American tribes’ Biden set to select top North Carolina environmental official to lead EPA MORE, Biden’s pick to helm the Environmental Protection Agency, has served as the top environmental regulator for the state of North Carolina for four years and also worked at EPA on its air quality program under Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush.

“The overall theme of Biden’s picks have been experience in government, and that’s a contrast to the Trump administration,” said Shapiro. “I do think he is looking for people who are going to know how to work the machinery of government to get things done.”

They will have a heavy workload. Under the Trump administration, various departments have rolled back a suite of environmental laws, set up barriers to immigration and weakened a host of discrimination protections at various agencies.

Meanwhile, Biden has pledged to move forward with policies to expand health care, address racial injustice and undo the Trump administration’s immigration agenda and environmental rollbacks. Biden’s first 100 days are likely to be focused on addressing the coronavirus pandemic, as his administration takes over the vaccine distribution process and he pushes for Congress to pass more legislation to address the pandemic.

Democrats are pushing Biden to waste no time in beginning a regulatory process that can take years.

“The regulatory agenda is going to be critical — and that has to be an agenda that is aggressive and swift enough to meet the moment,” said Amit Narang, a regulatory policy advocate with Public Citizen, a left-leaning advocacy group.

“In the beginning that’s going to be mostly about dealing with the last-minute Trump actions and seeing how much of that can be blocked right up front at the beginning of the administration,” he said. “The rollbacks that have been on the books longer will take longer to undo, so time is going to be of the essence.”

Part of the reason Biden will have so much to do is because of how quickly the Trump administration worked on their own regulatory rollbacks.

“In a lot of cases, they just broke stuff. It doesn’t take that much time to break stuff, so I think the challenge is when you’re building things and really trying to build a set of rules that make a difference and will be durable — that’s going to take time,” said Lisa Heinzerling, an environmental and administrative law professor at Georgetown University.

Some also see issues with Biden’s plans to spearhead his efforts with “czars,” particularly on the climate front.

“Their job is to try to oversee some kind of overarching issues within the executive branch without responsibility and the right authority,” said Shapiro, who expected those in Cabinet positions and other high-level roles in the White House, like the Office of Management and Budget director, to be more effective.

Agencies like EPA are the experts, Heinzerling said, with a strong hierarchical structure of scientists and policy experts dedicated to building sound regulation. But under the structure set up by Biden, she worries there will be too many layers.

“So if EPA wants to put out a rule, then they have the Council on Environmental Quality, the economic offices in the White House, the new climate czar, the new climate envoy all weigh in. You have all those people that have stake in and arguably responsibility for the rules they want to issue, and unless they have very clean lines of authority, they may find themselves in a bit of a tangle,” she said.

Will McDow, who leads the Environmental Defense Fund’s landscape resilience initiative, described Regan as someone who collaborates well and has succeeded in executing a long-term agenda, qualities that are likely to give him an advantage if he is confirmed to lead EPA, especially given the number of players at the table.

“I’ve been really impressed that Michael is willing to have this long vision, be willing to stay focused on that even when it doesn’t mean getting the immediately big headlines,” said McDow, who worked with Regan for eight years at the environmental advocacy group. “He is focused on getting things done over the long term.”

McCarthy has also shown she doesn’t shy away from regulation, dishing up two of the Obama administration’s most expansive regulations: the Clean Power Plan rule restricting emissions from utilities and the Waters of the U.S. rule expanding federal protections for waterways.

Both, however, were tied up in extensive litigation, just as almost every Trump regulation has been, a reminder that regulations must be crafted to be defensible in court.

That’s largely where the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) comes in. It’s the office designed to provide the final vetting to stress-test any flaws in a regulation.

But even with knowledgeable and aggressive agency heads, there’s fear that Biden’s pick to lead OIRA could slow the administration down, stalling progress on needed regulation.

“It’s a critical department and one that, during the Obama era, served as a major stumbling block to regulation,” Heinzerling said.

That dynamic changed during Obama’s second term, when he appointed a new OIRA head.

“The last two Democratic presidents have found the agencies late in their terms in office. They have turned around in their second term and said, ‘Look at all these people that can do work that is relative to our agenda’ and used them,” Heinzerling said.

“What is promising about Biden is I think he’s already discovered them.”

US boosts military presence off coast of Somalia to relocate 700 troops

December 28, 2020 KANKENNEWS

The Pentagon is boosting its military presence off the coast of Somalia as the U.S. prepares to move roughly 700 troops from the country to other parts of Africa.

The U.S. has sent an aircraft carrier group and a Marine expeditionary unit for positioning off the Somali coast. The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group and 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, made up of nearly 5,000 sailors and Marines, arrived there to “conduct maritime security operations,” U.S. Africom said in a statement on Tuesday.

The maritime presence is part of a new mission known as Operation Octave Quartz — the repositioning of forces from Somalia to other East Africa locations — following President TrumpDonald TrumpGeorgia Senate candidate Ossoff backs Trump’s call for K checks White House wishes Birx well after she announces retirement Pelosi responds to Trump: Let’s push for K checks ‘this week’ MORE’s order earlier this month to withdraw most of the roughly 700 troops stationed in the country by early next year.

The arrival of the extra vessels and their “significant combat capability demonstrates our resolve to support our partners and protect our forces through this transition,” Joint Task Force-Quartz head Air Force Maj. Gen. Dagvin Anderson said in the statement.

“This is a great example of how the United States can rapidly aggregate combat power to respond to emerging issues. We will look to leverage this inherent flexibility of the U.S. military in support of our future engagements in East Africa,” he added.

The USS Hershel “Woody” Williams has moved into the region for the mission, along with the Nimitz aircraft carrier and its carrier strike group.

Africom head Gen. Stephen Townsend said last week that U.S. forces departing Somalia will move to other bases in East Africa, though he did not specify their destinations.

“To be clear, the U.S. is not withdrawing or disengaging from East Africa. We remain committed to helping our African partners build a more secure future,” Townsend said in a statement Saturday.

U.S. forces have been stationed in Somalia for more than a decade to help local forces fight extremist groups including al Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab and, more recently, ISIS militants in the region. American troops have trained and assisted local security forces in addition to conducting airstrikes.

Stung by Trump, Fed chief gets fresh start with Biden

December 28, 2020 KANKENNEWS

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell may finally catch a break from White House pressure and major disputes with the administration when President-elect Biden takes over in January.

President TrumpDonald TrumpTop Trump aide Derek Lyons to leave White House this month Judge rules Trump Org must turn over documents to NY AG as part of probe Longtime GOP strategist Steve Schmidt announces he’s registering Democrat MORE picked Powell to be the Fed chief, but then spent most of the next three years criticizing his policies while nominating loyalists to the board who could be chosen to replace him as soon as possible.

Powell seemed to have a close relationship with Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven MnuchinCongress closes in on COVID-19 relief, funding deal Democratic leaders under pressure to agree to slimmed-down COVID-19 relief deal Congressional leaders to meet on government funding, coronavirus relief as deadline looms MORE, but even that frayed last month during a dispute over emergency lending facilities.

Powell, however, is unlikely to face a constant barrage of attacks from Biden — an institutionalist intensely focused on bipartisanship.

Fed experts say Powell’s strong rapport with his predecessor and Treasury Secretary nominee Janet YellenJanet Louise YellenThe climate candidate won — what can activists do now? Biden’s cabinet is built for comfort, not speed The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Mastercard – US inoculations begin; state electors certify Biden; Barr is out MORE gives him a sympathetic partner deeply knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the central bank.

“I think Powell will find sailing the sea of monetary policy much easier with the strong tailwind from the Biden administration behind him,” said David Beckworth, senior research fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center and a former Treasury Department economist.

Trump tapped Powell, a Republican, to replace Yellen as Fed chief in 2017 with the blessing of Mnuchin, who had worked with Powell closely on financial regulation throughout that year.

Powell’s term will expire in 2022 and it’s possible Biden will nominate someone else to lead the Fed at that time. Yet Powell is still likely to get a fresh start with the new administration, particularly if Yellen is confirmed at Treasury.

“Yellen, of course, has a deep institutional knowledge of the Fed. She still knows the staff there. she knows what it can do, she knows what it can do well, and she knows the limitations of what it can do well,” said Kathryn Judge, a law professor at Columbia University.

“That’s going to allow a productive working relationship.”

The two overlapped at the Fed from when Powell was confirmed as a Fed governor in 2012 through the end of Yellen’s term as chair in 2018. They share similar views on monetary policy, have effusively praised each other’s leadership of the central bank, and both err on the side of more ambitious fiscal stimulus in times of crisis.

Yellen and Powell could help enforce each other’s messages if the economy faces another downturn at the start of 2020, or if backlash to the Fed’s willingness to let inflation run slightly above average draws political fire from congressional Republicans.

Karen Shaw Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics, said Yellen will take pains to avoid overstepping the wall of independence between Treasury and the Fed.

“However, when those monetary policy decisions raise fiscal policy concerns and broader macroeconomic ones, surely she will be asked about them and then I think we will see her strongly defending the Fed,” she said.

Yellen and Powell were driving forces behind the Fed’s recent decision to adjust its approach to monetary policy to allow inflation to run above average to boost wages and drive unemployment lower after years of undershooting the bank’s target. But while they share similar monetary policy views, disputes over financial regulation could bubble up once Yellen takes office.

Yellen has fiercely defended Dodd-Frank banking regulations and has warned of other vulnerabilities in the financial system. As the incoming chair of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), Yellen may also steer the panel of federal regulators—which includes Powell— toward a more aggressive approach.

Powell, however, has supported rollbacks of some of those restrictions and has expressed a greater degree of confidence in the stability of the financial system.

“I don’t think that they’re that far apart, but they’re not exactly the same place,” said Ian Katz, director of the Washington, D.C. research firm Capital Alpha Partners.

“He may be even closer to her on that in the regulatory arena than we think, but there are differences and I do think she’ll want to be a bit more aggressive on regulation in general than he would be.”

Several upcoming Fed vacancies may also change that dynamic. Biden is likely to take office with one of the Fed’s seven board seats open, and he will get to pick a new Fed governor to replace Randal Quarles as the Fed vice chair of supervision when his term leading the bank’s regulatory activities ends in October 2021.

Observers expect any differences between Yellen and Powell to be sorted out behind closed doors — not through the tweetstorms and public disagreements that defined Powell’s early relationship with Trump and late break with Mnuchin. And as the economy continues to suffer under the coronavirus pandemic, their early work will likely focus on areas of wide agreement.

“In many ways, they’re hitting the ground running,” said Sarah Binder, a political science professor at George Washington University who studies the Fed.

“There’s no period of trying to get to know the person on the other side,” she continued. “That greases the skids for making a productive relationship.”

Biden pushes Trump to sign COVID-19 bill: 'It needs to be signed into law now'

December 28, 2020 KANKENNEWS

President-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenBrother of Biden adviser Ricchetti hired as lobbyist at Amazon Sunday shows preview: COVID-19 relief waiting on Trump’s signature; government continues vaccine roll out Global COVID-19 cases surpass 80 million MORE on Saturday pressed President TrumpDonald TrumpPost office to be named after oldest Pearl Harbor veteran Federal agents search residence in Antioch in connection with Nashville explosion Sunday shows preview: COVID-19 relief waiting on Trump’s signature; government continues vaccine roll out MORE to immediately sign a COVID-19 relief bill that is stuck in limbo, blasting what he deemed Trump’s “abdication of responsibility.”

Biden noted that the bill contains provisions for small businesses and extended unemployment benefits as well as stimulus checks and that it could help struggling families experiencing the pandemic’s economic fallout during the holiday season.

“It is the day after Christmas, and millions of families don’t know if they’ll be able to make ends meet because of President Donald Trump’s refusal to sign an economic relief bill approved by Congress with an overwhelming and bipartisan majority,” Biden said in a statement. “This abdication of responsibility has devastating consequences.”

“This bill is critical. It needs to be signed into law now. But it is also a first step and down payment on more action that we’ll need to take early in the new year to revive the economy and contain the pandemic — including meeting the dire need for funding to distribute and administer the vaccine and to increase our testing capacity,” he added, indicating he’ll push for more relief once he takes office in January.

The push comes as members of both parties urge the president to sign the $2.3 trillion package, which includes $900 billion for COVID-19 relief and $1.4 trillion to fund the government until October.

The bill passed with broad bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress, but Trump blindsided lawmakers earlier this week when he blasted the package as inadequate and filled with wasteful spending.

The president specifically called on Congress to raise the amount of the stimulus checks for Americans from $600 currently included in the COVID-19 relief bill to $2,000 and tore into provisions in the government funding legislation such as $85.5 million for assistance to Cambodia and $40 million for the Kennedy Center in Washington. He also falsely claimed that the relief measure provided more stimulus funds for noncitizens than citizens.

Unemployment benefits are set to expire on Saturday if they are not renewed, while a government shutdown would begin on Tuesday without action by the president or the passage of a new bill by Congress, which would also have to be signed by Trump before Tuesday.

“In November, the American people spoke clearly that now is a time for bipartisan action and compromise. I was heartened to see members of Congress heed that message, reach across the aisle, and work together,” Biden said. “President Trump should join them, and make sure millions of Americans can put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads in this holiday season.”

–Updated on Jan. 27 at 7:06 a.m.

CDC: Only about 1 million Americans have received COVID-19 vaccine

December 24, 2020 KANKENNEWS

Just over 1 million people in America have received a COVID-19 vaccine to date, a number that shows the Trump administration’s goal of vaccinating 20 million people by the end of the year may be in jeopardy.

Federal officials on Wednesday told reporters that distribution has far exceeded the number of vaccinations, and the actual act of getting shots into arms has been slower than anticipated.

“The commitment that we make is to make vaccine doses available. Ultimately, I think that commitment is met,” said Moncef Slaoui, chief science advisor of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed.

However, he said the goal of 20 million vaccinations is “unlikely to be met.”

“Exactly how fast the ramp-up of immunizations, shots in arms, is slower than we thought it would be,” Slaoui said, adding that “we’re here to help the states to accelerate appropriately.”

Two vaccines are currently in circulation, one by Pfizer and BioNTech and another by Moderna. Both require two doses, separated by about three weeks, to be effective.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, the administration has distributed nearly 9.5 million doses of vaccines from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech to states and federal agencies over the past two weeks.

The second doses will be sent in January.

The CDC said a large difference between the number of doses distributed and the number of doses administered “is expected at this point in the COVID vaccination program.”

The agency said factors include a lag in reporting administered doses, the management of available vaccine stocks by jurisdictions, and the launch of the administration’s program for vaccinating people in long-term care facilities.

The agency is also not yet tracking the number of doses of Moderna’s vaccine that have been administered. Doses of that vaccine began arriving at more than 3,500 locations across the country this week.

For next week, the administration has allocated 2.67 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and 2 million of Moderna’s.

Yet even accounting for reporting delays, officials acknowledged there have been some missteps with the distribution process.

Army Gen. Gustave Perna, the chief operations officer for the Operation Warp Speed initiative, on Wednesday said officials are still “learning some things.”

“As we figure out the pace, picking up vaccines and putting them in a box, making sure we do the right quality control, we’ve had to adjust our timelines,” Perna said.

“We have had a handful of packages that we tried to deliver that were not destined for the right place, but we captured them before they were dropped off and we rerouted them to the right place,” Perna said. “And we had a couple of … shipments that did not go out on the right day.”

Still, Perna said deliveries to states are going out on schedule and he expects deliveries to improve. In total, Perna said that 15.5 million doses have already been allocated for states and jurisdictions to order.

Perna said 7.9 million combined doses of Pfizer/BionTech and Moderna’s vaccines were allocated for this week, and distribution is expected to be completed by the end of Thursday.

The initial vaccinations come as the country heads into what is anticipated to be the most dangerous phase of the pandemic since its first outbreak at the beginning of this year. Experts predict there will be a spike in cases following Christmas, and the country is already routinely tallying 3,000 deaths from the coronavirus per day.

More than 325,000 Americans have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the distribution missteps, CDC Robert RedfieldRobert RedfieldCDC: Only about 1 million Americans have received COVID-19 vaccine White House mulls requiring UK travelers to provide negative coronavirus test: report Overnight Health Care: Congress to pass deal with 0 stimulus checks | House panel subpoenas for Azar, Redfield CDC documents | Fauci, Azar to receive COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday MORE praised the “early but important” milestone of 1 million vaccinations.

“While we celebrate this historic milestone, we also acknowledge the challenging path ahead,” Redfield said in a statement. “There is currently a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S., but supply will increase in the weeks and months to come. The goal is for everyone to be able to easily get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as large enough quantities are available.”

Redfield also urged Americans to continue observing public health guidelines.

“Until every person in the U.S. is able to get a COVID-19 vaccine, we continue to ask Americans to embrace proven public health strategies including social distancing, good hand hygiene, and wearing a mask in public to reduce the risk of transmission and protect our communities,” Redfield said.

Tal Axelrod contributed

Updated 6:31 p.m.

On The Money: Trump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money | Biden faces new critical deadlines after relief package | Labor rule allows restaurants to require broader tip pooling

December 24, 2020 KANKENNEWS

Hello and happy Wednesday, welcome back to On The Money. I’m Niv Elis, filling in for Sylvan Lane, with your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

NOTE: On the Money will be on vacation after today until Monday, January 4. Enjoy your holidays safely.

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THE BIG DEAL: President TrumpDonald TrumpMcCarthy to offer UC request to revisit foreign spending in omnibus GOP senator on Trump pardons: ‘This is rotten to the core’ Trump pardons Manafort, Stone and Charles Kushner in latest round MORE on Tuesday evening blasted Congress over the already-passed COVID-19 relief package and called on both chambers to send him a new bill increasing stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000.

The federal government is currently funded through Dec. 28 as part of a stopgap bill.

The fallout:

Trump’s position has put Republicans in a bind. They are waiting to see what Trump does on the relief package. More from Alex Bolton here.

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Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) have jumped on board, seizing the opportunity to press for a larger stimulus checks. Progressives are ecstatic.
The move has thrown a curve ball into the crucial Georgia Senate races scheduled for Jan. 5, which will decide control of the upper Chamber. Read more from Naomi Jagoda here.

Read more about Trump’s Tuesday night shocker, which followed the announcement that he had pardoned a slew of controversial people, in this story from me and Tal Axelrod here.

LEADING THE DAY: The $900 billion COVID-19 relief package Congress approved Monday set up a series of tough deadlines for the incoming Biden administration.

Expanded unemployment benefits are slated to phase out starting in mid-March. Other benefits intended to help businesses and keep people in their homes will expire as soon as Jan. 31.

While the latest COVID-19 relief package is expected to help avert another economic downturn and save millions of people from falling over a financial cliff, it is also coming at one of the hardest moments of the downturn.

Assuming the bill is signed into law, here’s my story on the toughest deadlines Biden will face when he gets into office.

Questions and answers about the second round of stimulus payments: Congress on Monday passed a $900 billion coronavirus relief package that includes a second round of direct payments for most Americans.

The relief package, which has yet to be signed into law, would provide payments of up to $600 for adults and children. The checks for adults are smaller than the $1,200 payments from earlier in the pandemic, but the amount for children is up $100 compared with the first round.

The new payments have garnered widespread interest and questions as millions of Americans struggle to pay basic expenses as a result of the pandemic. President Trump, however, slammed the relief bill on Tuesday night and called on Congress to increase the stimulus checks to $2,000 each.

In doing so, he suggested he might not sign the legislation, but stopped short of saying he would veto the measure, which includes funding to keep the government open through Sept. 30.

Naomi has the answers to key questions about the second round of stimulus payments included in the $900 billion package right here.

Labor rule allows restaurants to require broader tip pooling: A final Labor Department rule released Tuesday will allow restaurants to require servers to pool their tips with staff that traditionally do not receive tips, and softens restrictions on non-tipped work for employees who earn a lower, tipped minimum wage.

The rule will only allow required tip pooling for restaurants that pay a full minimum wage, however, and bars managers and owners from partaking in the tip pooling, part of a 2018 compromise between Sen. Patty MurrayPatricia (Patty) Lynn MurrayOn The Money: Trump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money | Biden faces new critical deadlines after relief package | Labor rule allows restaurants to require broader tip pooling Labor rule allows restaurants to require broader tip pooling Bipartisan senators urge surprise billing deal’s inclusion in year-end package MORE (D-Wash) and then-Labor Secretary Alexander AcostaAlex Alexander AcostaOn The Money: Trump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money | Biden faces new critical deadlines after relief package | Labor rule allows restaurants to require broader tip pooling Labor rule allows restaurants to require broader tip pooling Federal litigator files complaint alleging Labor secretary abused his authority MORE.

But critics say that the rule could allow restaurants and bars to skimp on wages for non-tipped staff such as cooks and dishwashers, covering those wages with pooled tip money from servers instead.

I’ve got more details for you here.

GOOD TO KNOW

803,000 file jobless claims, down from previous week (but still higher than recent months)
Personal income falls 1.1 percent, spending down 0.4 percent in November
Stocks rise after vaccine news, despite Trump surprise and less-than-reassuring economic news

OPINION

A hopeful Fed is not a resourceful Fed
End of an era: Champion of programs for the poor retiring
The restaurant revival that turned into a revolt
What a Biden administration means for homeowners and lenders

Labor rule allows restaurants to require broader tip pooling

December 24, 2020 KANKENNEWS

A final Labor Department rule released Tuesday will allow restaurants to require servers to pool their tips with staff who traditionally do not receive tips, and softens restrictions on non-tipped work for employees who earn a lower, tipped minimum wage.

“This final rule provides clarity and flexibility for employers and could increase pay for back-of-the house workers, like cooks and dishwashers, who have been excluded from participating in tip pools in the past,” said Cheryl Stanton, the Labor Departments’s wage and hour administrator.

“Newly allowed tip sharing may incentivize the inclusion of these previously excluded workers and reduce wage disparities among all workers who contribute to customers’ experience.”

But critics say the rule could allow restaurants and bars to skimp on wages for non-tipped staff such as cooks and dishwashers, covering those wages with pooled tip money from servers instead.

They also say that a change of the so-called 80/20 rule could be bad for tipped workers.

Employers are allowed to pay tipped workers a “tipped minimum wage” of $2.13 an hour, provided that tips bring the total haul above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

Previously, tipped workers such as servers could spend up to 20 percent of their time doing non-tipped work, such as rolling silverware into napkins, without having to receive a full minimum wage.

The updated regulation eliminates the clear demarcation of 20 percent, saying instead that they may only be required to spend a “reasonable time” on such duties, immediately before or after their tipped work.

“‘Reasonable time’ is not defined, and its ambiguity will make it difficult to enforce, providing employers an immense loophole and leaving workers behind,” said Heidi Shierholz, a scholar at the Economic Policy Institute and former chief economist at the Labor Department under President Obama.

Shierholz estimated that this could cost tipped workers a collective $700 million a year, and shift more jobs from non-tipped to tipped.

California's COVID catastrophe shows worst-case holiday scenario

December 24, 2020 KANKENNEWS

Public health officials are pointing to California as a cautionary tale of how the coronavirus can spread during holidays, just before the next holiday season threatens to amplify outbreaks that could overwhelm the nation’s most populous state.

As the pandemic raged for months in epicenters across the country, California residents abiding by lockdown orders and advisories from public health officials managed to avoid a calamity of contagion. Infection rates, hospitalizations and even deaths lagged well below national averages.

But California is now one of the worst epicenters in the nation, second only to Tennessee, as a wave of infections likely spread during the Thanksgiving holiday threatens to overwhelm public health systems across wide swaths of the state.

“The Thanksgiving holiday season has hit us really hard,” Nathan Fletcher, a San Diego County supervisor, told reporters at a briefing.

The virus is spreading rapidly especially across Southern California and the Inland Empire. Los Angeles County is averaging 145 new cases per 100,000 residents every day, or 1 percent of its entire population every week. The numbers are higher in San Bernardino and Riverside counties that border Arizona, and in Fresno and Monterey counties to the north.

On Monday alone, California reported 62,000 new cases, the highest single-day case count ever reported in the state. In the last week, the Golden State is averaging 45,000 new cases a day, a spike seven times higher than the weekly average just a month-and-a-half ago.

Test positivity rates stand at 13 percent, the highest level since April; in places like Los Angeles County, it is even higher. The average infected person is creating an estimated 1.3 new cases statewide, a figure that means case counts are still growing.

The number of daily deaths is rising too, up fivefold over the same period, according to data maintained by the Covid Tracking Project, a group of independent researchers. More than 18,000 Californians are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, twice as many as were in hospital on Dec. 1.

Statewide, only about 2 percent of intensive care unit beds are available. In Southern California, ICU beds are full, and hospitals are scrambling to create new beds in operating and surgical recovery rooms. Sixty-two patients are being treated in temporary hospitals set up to handle overflow surge.

A statewide tier system implemented by Gov. Gavin NewsomGavin NewsomNewsom taps Shirley Weber to serve as California secretary of state Newsom picks Padilla for California Senate seat California governor reentering quarantine MORE (D) after the harsh wave of lockdowns has now been triggered across much of California. Four of five regions in the state are under stay-at-home orders, and Newsom said Monday it is likely that at least Southern California will remain in lockdown beyond the current scheduled end date of Dec. 28.

Newsom himself is in quarantine for the second time in a month, after coming into contact with someone who subsequently tested positive for the virus.

The state’s trend lines are worrying. Models from the University of California-San Diego and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia show case counts continuing to rise for weeks, perhaps into mid-January. Hospitalizations tend to trail confirmed cases by a week or two, raising the frightening prospect of a month of rising hospitalizations at a time when capacity is already strained.

“With Christmas at the end of the week, the potential for catastrophe is high,” said George Rutherford, an epidemiologist at the University of California-San Francisco. “We have quite a ways to go, and the ERs and the ICUs are just being hammered.”

The threat of an overwhelmed health care system goes beyond the rising number of those who need treatment for severe COVID-19. Hospitals are beginning to take even more drastic steps, delaying tumor removals for cancer patients or organ transplants for those in need of surgery. At the same time, hospital staffers working round-the-clock shifts are becoming exhausted.

“Our inability to control the spread of COVID-19 is causing hospitals to take extraordinary action in order to free up space,” Fletcher said. “The staffing challenges are real, and it could mean we may not be able to actually staff the available ICU beds that we have today.”

For weeks, public health officials warned residents against traveling during the Thanksgiving holiday. But the new infection data show Californians, and others across the country, did not heed that advice.

At the same time, several high-profile public leaders seemed to flout their own rules, at least in spirit if not in the letter of the law. Newsom was photographed at a large dinner at the French Laundry, one of Napa’s most prestigious restaurants; San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) visited the establishment the next day.

“There’s a disconnect between what people hear and what they believe they need to do, and we no longer have a solid partnership between the government and the community, or the public health enterprise and the community,” said Andrea LaCroix, chief of epidemiology, family medicine and public health at the University of California-San Diego’s School of Health Sciences.

“It’s just somehow not horrific enough for people to say, ‘I shouldn’t do this,’” she said.

Experts watching the rising case counts say California has been hit hard in this latest round, too, because it had avoided so many infections early on in the pandemic. While states like New York and New Jersey in the first wave, Arizona in the second wave and the Dakotas early in the third wave suffered widespread infections, relatively fewer infections in California means more of the population remains at risk.

“The virus is like a psychopathic hitchhiker. It needs a ride to the next person, and the only way it gets a ride really is from person to person. But it’s invisible and it’s only lethal some of the time,” LaCroix said. “The vast majority of the population hasn’t been infected yet and remains vulnerable.”

California’s experience, too, is a sign of what can happen when viral infections hit a critical mass. There are so many infections circulating now, especially among asymptomatic carriers who can spread the virus without knowing they are doing so, that even harsh lockdowns cannot prevent contact between those who are infected and those who are not.

“The greater the number, the greater the risk for possible exposure,” said Matthew Mimiaga, an epidemiologist at UCLA and director of the university’s Center for LGBTQ Advocacy, Research and Health. “In Southern California, the numbers have been high for a good amount of time now.”

Now, officials are desperate to rebuild public vigilance that has crumbled under the weight of pandemic fatigue and the happy news of a vaccine on the way. The fate of some of the largest public health systems in the nation depend on it.

“We have to take action different at Christmas than we did at Thanksgiving. If our individual actions at Christmas resemble those at Thanksgiving, we very well could overwhelm the system that we are holding together on a daily basis,” Fletcher said. “Our actions that we take on the holidays are a downpayment to put us in a better position after the first of the year to be able to come out of this strong and to prepare for the arrival of large numbers of vaccines.”

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Monthly Archives: December 2020

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On The Money: Trump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money | Biden faces new critical deadlines after relief package | Labor rule allows restaurants to require broader tip pooling

Labor rule allows restaurants to require broader tip pooling

California's COVID catastrophe shows worst-case holiday scenario