$1,400 checks passed the House, heading to Senate: The new $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill passed the house on a mostly party-line vote on Saturday. Two Democrats voted with all of the house Republicans against the bill.
In addition to direct payments of $1,400 to qualifying Americans, the bill also includes funding for vaccine distribution, funding for cash-strapped local and state governments, funding for small businesses, and would boost weekly unemployment benefits from $300 to $400.
Democrats are hoping that they can pass the bill within the next two weeks, before the temporary extension on boosted jobless benefits expires. If the bill passes, the IRS has said that payments could arrive directly in accounts within a couple days.
(Politico/Morning Consult)
(National Parks Service/Courtesy Photo)
Wilderness protection bill moves to Senate: While most public attention is on the COVID relief, another proposed bill would conserve nearly 3 million of acres of land in Colorado, Arizona, California and Washington passed the House last week, mostly on a party-line vote.
The bill is a collection of 8 different pieces of proposed legislation, including the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act and the Colorado Wilderness Act.
One of the outcomes of the CORE Act would be the formalization of the boundaries of the nearby Curecanti National Recreation Area. Although the area was created in 1965, the borders of the area have never been established by Congress. However, most Republicans in Congress objected to the bill, including Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO-3).
"Wilderness designations harm active management and wildfire activities," Boebert said on Friday, as reported by Colorado Public Radio. "I hope that when members visit my district on horseback they are telling people that this land will soon burn, because if we do not actively manage our forests, Mother Nature will continue to manage it for us."
(Lauren Boebert/Twitter) Boebert also made an appearance and tweeted throughout the weekend.
QUICK LINKS
|
