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.
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