PPI - Radically Pragmatic
  • Donate
Skip to content
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Locations
    • Careers
  • People
  • Projects
  • Our Work
  • Events
  • Donate

Our Work

Republican Demands For Covid Relief Forced Some Bizarre Choices

  • December 22, 2020
  • Ben Ritz

The nearly 5600-page omnibus government funding and covid relief bill passed by Congress yesterday was an undeniable win for the American people, providing much-needed relief for those most affected by the pandemic. In addition to preventing a government shutdown, the bill extended and expanded unemployment insurance; provided aid to restaurants, airlines, and other businesses heavily impacted by the pandemic; and provided robust funding for vaccine distribution to help end the pandemic sooner and get people back to work. It also included other important policy developments, such as a long-stalled proposal to limit surprise medical billing and investments to combat climate change. But an arbitrary demand from Republicans that the bill not exceed $1 trillion, combined with their monomaniacal focus on business tax cuts, resulted in some bizarre and unfortunate tradeoffs.

Read the full piece here.

Related Work

Publication  |  July 30, 2025

Five More Problems With the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

  • Alex Kilander
Op-Ed  |  July 24, 2025

Weinstein Jr. for Forbes: 5 Reasons Trump Should Think Twice About Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell

  • Paul Weinstein Jr.
In the News  |  July 18, 2025

Marshall in The New York Times: The Seeds of Democratic Revival Have Already Been Sown

  • Will Marshall
In the News  |  July 17, 2025

Ainsley for ABC Radio National Breakfast: UK’s Labour Party suspends four MPs in rising rebellion over welfare policy

  • Claire Ainsley
Publication  |  July 14, 2025

Build Back Belief: Why Voters Around the World Lost Faith in Government and How to Win it Back

  • Deborah Mattinson Claire Ainsley Tom Brookes
Op-Ed  |  July 11, 2025

Marshall for The Hill: How Trump Can Capitalize on Autocrats’ Setbacks

  • Will Marshall
  • Never miss an update:

  • Subscribe to our newsletter
PPI Logo
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Donate
  • Careers
  • © 2025 Progressive Policy Institute. All Rights Reserved.
  • |
  • Privacy Policy
  • |
  • Privacy Settings