Plan Archives - Morbidoptimism

on October 13, 2020October 13, 2020house

McConnell plans coronavirus aid vote as Pelosi says White House stimulus plan falls short

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans a vote on limited coronavirus stimulus legislation based around the Paycheck Protection Program this month.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump tweeted that lawmakers should “go big or go home” ahead of the 2020 election.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is negotiating a potential stimulus deal with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, said the latest White House proposal “falls significantly short” of what is need to address the crisis.

Mitch McConnell wearing a suit and tie: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks with Democratic challenger Amy McGrath during a debate on October 12, 2020 in Lexington, Kentucky.

© Provided by CNBC
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks with Democratic challenger Amy McGrath during a debate on October 12, 2020 in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Senate will vote on a limited coronavirus stimulus bill this month, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday, as lawmakers stumble in their push to send aid to Americans before the 2020 election.

In a statement, the Kentucky Republican said the Senate would take up aid legislation after the full chamber

on October 12, 2020October 12, 2020house

White House urges small business rescue plan

The White House on Sunday changed tactics yet again on boosting the pandemic-hit US economy, this time urging lawmakers to back a plan to help small businesses weeks ahead of the presidential election.

The change comes after President Donald Trump’s Republican Party and Democrats both rejected, for different reasons, a beefed-up $1.8 trillion economic rescue plan proposed Friday.

In a letter Sunday to Congress, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged backing for a bill allowing some $130 billion in unused funds from a previous support plan to be redirected.

The money would be earmarked for businesses, particularly small and medium-sized companies, that are facing declining revenues while negotiations for more support drag on.

“Now is the time for us to come together and immediately vote on a bill to allow us to spend the unused Paycheck Protection Program funds while we continue to

on October 10, 2020October 10, 2020house

White House offers $1.8 trillion plan

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday he hasn’t been to the White House since August 6.

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – The White House offered Democrats a $1.8 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package as President Donald Trump reverses course on stimulus negotiations, saying he wants to “Go Big.”

The proposal is a $1.8 trillion offer, according to an administration official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of a negotiation still underway. It is about $200 billion more than the White House’s $1.6 trillion proposal last week.

The White House’s latest offer is still smaller than the $2.2 trillion Democrats most recently offered and which Trump rejected on Tuesday. Trump seemed to undercut his administration’s negotiation Friday afternoon, telling Rush Limbaugh in an interview, “I would like to see a bigger stimulus package frankly than either the Democrats or the Republicans are offering.”

White House spokesperson Alyssa Farah

on October 7, 2020October 7, 2020bathroom

How To Plan Your Bathroom Remodel In Iowa

This post is sponsored and contributed by a Patch Brand Partner. The views expressed in this post are the author’s own.

Be sure your remodel goes smoothly with our bathroom renovation checklist. (Shutterstock)

Here in Iowa, a newly renovated bathroom can help bolster the value of your home. And, your family can enjoy a more beautiful and efficient design.

But to make sure the end results are tailored to your needs, you’ll want to do some planning before contacting professional bathroom remodelers. Here’s what to do.

1. Plan Your Design

While professional bathroom remodelers will be able to help you make structural decisions, it’s wise for you to know ahead of time what you’d like the end result to look like. Do a little brainstorming to come up with concrete ideas, like, “I’d like a freestanding tub and separate shower,” or “I prefer a pedestal sink to a drop-in

on October 6, 2020October 6, 2020interior

Interior secretary will not delay New Mexico land-use plan

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. interior secretary refused to delay a land-use plan that opponents say will lead to drilling thousands of new oil and gas wells.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt said Monday the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs will go forward with the plan for the Greater Chaco region, The Farmington Daily Times reported.

A public comment period ended Sept. 25 for the Farmington Field Office Mancos-Gallup Resource Management Plan Amendment after being extended from May because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Opponents said the health conditions that led Bernhardt to extend the comment period have not changed and further action should be paused until in-person meetings can resume.

“We need to move forward and get this plan done,” Bernhardt said of the resource management plan amendment that has been in the works since 2014.

Staff will review public comments and

on October 2, 2020October 2, 2020interior

DEP sets public hearing date for Liberty State Park ‘interior’ plan

The state Department of Environmental Protection has set 6 p.m. Oct. 20 as the time and date for the public hearing on its proposed plan for 234 acres of currently fenced-off land in Liberty State Park.

The hearing will be conducted virtually. Anyone wishing to attend must register by Oct. 15 by going to njdepcalendar.com/calendar/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=654.

Registrants will receive more details and a link to the virtual meeting.

Designers who have been working on a proposal for the land, known as the park’s “interior,” are at the 30 percent complete mark, triggering the need for the hearing. There, the DEP will present the preliminary design proposal, and attendees will be able to submit comments and ask questions. The DEP will also accept comments via an online survey.

In a news briefing last month, DEP officials gave a broad overview of its plan to remediate the contamination that exists in the interior

on October 2, 2020October 2, 2020house

U.S. House passes Democratic COVID-19 aid plan after bipartisan deal proves elusive

By Susan Cornwell, David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a $2.2 trillion Democratic plan to provide more economic relief from the coronavirus pandemic, as a bipartisan deal continued to elude House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House.

Objections from top Republicans are likely to doom the House Democrats’ plan in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called the $2.2 trillion price tag “outlandish,” although Democrats have reduced the cost of their proposal by over a trillion dollars since May. The House vote was 214-207.

No Republican voted for the Democratic plan, although 18 Democrats voted no, many of them moderates from swing districts who have been urging Pelosi to bring a bipartisan proposal to the House floor.

“Today’s package is another partisan exercise that will never become law,” Representative Abigail Spanberger, one of the Democrats who voted no, said.

Republican

on October 2, 2020October 2, 2020house

House approves $2.2 trillion stimulus plan from Democrats with no bipartisan deal in sight

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus proposal put forward by House Democrats with no bipartisan deal in sight, even as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have continued talks in an effort to reach an agreement.

a person wearing a suit and tie talking on a cell phone: WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 23: U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) arrives at the U.S. Capitol on April 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives is expected to vote later today on the latest economic stimulus package passed earlier in the week by the U.S. Senate. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

© Win McNamee/Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 23: U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) arrives at the U.S. Capitol on April 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives is expected to vote later today on the latest economic stimulus package passed earlier in the week by the U.S. Senate. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The measure passed largely along party lines amid GOP opposition with a final tally of 214-207. Eighteen Democrats crossed party lines to vote against the bill, while Republicans were united in opposition.

The legislation will give Democrats something to point to as lawmakers face pressure

on October 1, 2020October 1, 2020house

House on track to vote on $2.2 trillion stimulus plan from Democrats with no bipartisan deal in sight

The House of Representatives is on track to vote Thursday evening on a $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus proposal put forward by House Democrats with no bipartisan deal in sight even as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have continued talks in an effort to reach an agreement.

Time is quickly running out to clinch a bipartisan agreement that could be signed into law as Democrats move forward to advance a plan that Republicans have rejected as too costly and is not expected to be taken up by the

on September 30, 2020September 30, 2020house

House Democrats won’t vote on $2.2T plan to give Pelosi and Mnuchin more time to crack a deal

Wait and see.

Steven Mnuchin wearing a suit and tie: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, right, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin testify during the Senate's Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing examining the quarterly CARES Act report to Congress on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2020, in Washington. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)

© Toni L. Sandys
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, right, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin testify during the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing examining the quarterly CARES Act report to Congress on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2020, in Washington. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)

After promising to put up an economic relief bill for a vote on Wednesday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held an “extensive conversation” Wednesday on a huge COVID-19 rescue package, meeting face to face for the first time in more than a month in a last-ditch effort to seal a tentative accord on an additional round of coronavirus relief.

After a 90-minute meeting in the Capitol, Pelosi issued a statement saying the two would continue to talk and the vote will not be held just yet. “We found