The bipartisan covid relief bill working its way through Congress appears to have worsened thanks to demands by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, along with Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), that the package include a second round of stimulus checks. Because Senate Republicans have refused to support a package that costs more than $1 trillion, the inclusion of checks is likely coming at the expense of other provisions that would better target assistance where it is most needed. As Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) have argued, there is nothing progressive about taking money from people directly affected by the covid pandemic to finance a poorly targeted stimulus check.
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