What A Day - What's In The Rescue Bill With Sen. Sherrod Brown

Episode Date: March 26, 2020

The senate approved a nearly $2 trillion relief package to respond to the coronavirus pandemic yesterday, after a day of delays and a lot of debate. We discuss what made it into the bill and what didn’t with Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown.And in headlines: three states restrict abortion access during Covid-19, everyone’s getting a pandemic pet, and Dr. Dre and Mister Rogers get recognized by the Library of Congress.

Today's episode of What A Day is brought to you by HBO. So from HBO is The Plot Against America, a limited series from the executive producers of The Wire that reimagines an alternate American history told through the eyes of a working class Jewish family. Based on Philip Roth's novel, the family witnesses the rise of Charles Lindbergh, whose run for president turns the nation towards fascism.

We hate to see it. The Plot Against America is streaming now only on HBO and tune into The Plot Against America podcast streaming now only on HBO and tune into the Plot Against America podcast where David Simon and NPR's Peter Sagal break down the major themes and critical moments from each episode. Available wherever you get your podcasts. It's Thursday, March 26th. I'm Akilah Hughes. And I'm Gideon Resnick. And this is What A Day, the only news podcast that reports entirely from an island in Animal Crossing. Gideon, what kind of fruit you got on your island? I myself am a cocoa man.

Oh, I have apples. On today's show, we hear from Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio about the Senate's coronavirus relief bill, then some headlines. But first, the latest. And I feel like all this shit, I feel like for coronavirus treatments, for testing, for all that shit, I feel like the government should charge that shit to the game and not charge people for it, because at the end of the day, this shit could have been prevented. Big ups to Cardi B, my interim president. All right, so big news. Late last night, the Senate passed a nearly $2 trillion relief package,

the largest rescue bill in American history, to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The vote came after a day of delays and debate, which we'll explain in a moment. But let's quickly go over the main elements of the bill. Oh, yeah, here we go. So this is what we know from public reporting, but other stuff could end up in there. I just want to qualify with that. This bill overall, like we've talked about, is meant to tide people and the economy over while we deal with the public health crisis for now. Obviously, it's been viewed as sort of a short-term fix and not a long-term one. But first, there's extra unemployment insurance, basically an additional $600 per week for up to four months in addition to state unemployment benefits that

individuals would receive. That's for people that lose their jobs. And Democrats also got it expanded to cover furloughed workers, freelancers, and gig workers like Uber drivers. Probably some natural questions there that I myself don't have answered about how that would work if you're in that position, but we'll try to answer that at a later date. On top of that, there are also the cash payments. So people with incomes that are up to $75,000 a year or $150,000 for married couples, they're going to receive $1,200. That's also $2,400 for those couples. So good time to get married. From there, it would be phased out for higher income earners and people who make more than $99,000 would not qualify. And families would get an extra $500 per child. But there's a catch to this as well, to getting the payments to people.

If you have direct deposit bank account information on file with the IRS, you should see those payments come in a few weeks after the bill is signed. But if you don't have that information on file, or you don't have a bank account, you're going to have to wait months to get the check in the mail. That is a long time to wait, especially with rent payments and all other kinds of monthly payments coming up. And a lot of lower income people happen to fall into that category too. Yeah, it's wild that they're not just focusing on like, you know, a moratorium on rent entirely. But fine, that's another issue. But are there any other key highlights in the bill? Yes.

Healthcare providers will get a significant amount of extra money. There's $350 billion in loans for small businesses for up to 10 weeks should they pledge to keep workers. And then circling back to that $500 billion in aid for large corporations like airlines, there were rules that did get added that would install an inspector general and an accountability committee to oversee how that money is spent. But while not everyone has had a chance to go through the 800 plus pages of the draft legislation, and you know, look over all the spine print, which could very likely have other lobbyists pushed carve outs. Many progressives are worried that it's still far too tilted towards corporations and shareholders rather than workers and that it doesn't provide, to your point,

the immediate relief to people who are struggling right now at this moment. For example, there's been reporting about a carve out of billions of dollars for Boeing, which, as we've talked about, had previously prioritized speed of production over safety in their development of the 737 Max jets, which were involved in two recent deadly crashes. The CEO also recently said the company would consider rejecting federal aid if the Treasury Department took a stake in the company. So it seems like they don't even necessarily need the government's money all that much. But the argument, though, for giving it to them is that it's, quote,

critical for national security, kind of a too big to fail argument. Right. And there's other criticism, too. But that's coming from the states. Yeah. I mean, the main person doing it is New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose state is obviously dealing with one of the worst epicenters of the current pandemic. And he was saying that the bill would only give about $3.8 billion to New York. And he was saying, based on what he's seeing, the state is facing a possible revenue shortfall of something to the tune of $9 to $15 billion. Yikes. And as you said, you know, people are still going through the details of the bill because it was still being drafted most of the day yesterday while there was a bunch of other drama going on threatening to block it from moving forward. So what was all of that about? beefed up employment insurance numbers that we saw in the bill. Graham implied at a certain moment

with a straight face, I might add, that unemployment benefits might incentivize individuals like nurses to quit their jobs, which is not how unemployment insurance works by and large, and is separately quite offensive to people who are currently putting on garbage bags to protect themselves as they save lives. But I digress. Exactly, amen. But after that, Senator Bernie Sanders sort of turns the tables on them saying, okay, if you wanna do this and you wanna put an amendment out there that delays the passage of this bill,

then I'll put one out and hold up the bill due to concerns that I have about the $500 billion fund for corporations that we've been talking about on this show. And by the way, you know, he's not the only person that is saying the Graham view on the situation is inaccurate. There were other Republicans that were involved with that specific provision that were saying that Graham was misinterpreting the bill. Yeah, interesting. Everybody thinks Graham can't read.

All right. Well, so before all this back and forth and before we even had the final bill text, you spoke to Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio about the legislation, what he fought for in the bill, as well as what he thinks still needs to be done. Why don't we hear that conversation? We're just hours out essentially from what was, you know, the latest iteration of this stimulus deal. Are you happy with where the parties are right now? You could always get a better deal than we have, but considering where we started when McConnell introduced this, it was a total bailout for the airlines and Wall Street and his wealthy corporate friends with virtually no strings attached.

We've succeeded in putting money in people's pockets. We've succeeded through scaling up unemployment insurance, money to hospitals, money to communities, cities, and counties. We're working to increase food stamps. The whole goal here was to allow people to exist and stay in their homes and be safe. And we have prohibition on evictions and foreclosures during this. We want to make sure people don't get their credit score dinged because they lost their job and they're late with their rent. All of those kinds of things that improve this bill dramatically. We still have more to do. We should be expanding earned income tax credit. We need to help home care workers that are

underpaid and not safe enough in the work they're doing now, going from home to home without the protective equipment, all of those things we need to do. We've had no presidential leadership to do it. Clearly, the president started seven weeks late, and he still hasn't tried to catch up in what we need to do for our healthcare system and for the safety of our country and for the economy. And one other thing that I think you may have been kind of hinting at, as the bill was being negotiated, you called for worker protections and conditions on companies receiving bailout funds like stock buybacks or a promise to cut executive pay and other expenses before laying off workers.

So within this so far, are you satisfied with the conditions that are in place for companies getting assistance? We've been mostly successful. I mean, stock buybacks and limits on executive compensation don't per se help workers. I want that to happen because they've abused the system too long. The banks promised 10 years ago. I mean, learn from that. 10 years ago, the banks promised people would be able to stay in their homes, and they promised not to lay people off, and they broke the promises,

and they paid themselves well, and we've seen stagnant wages. We can't let that happen. But the most important worker protections are that workers keep their jobs even though they're furloughed. They keep their health insurance, and if they can't keep their health insurance, we need to expand Medicaid to make sure they have insurance, all of those kinds of things. We've got good oversight now on Secretary Mnuchin when he tries to, if the past is an indication, when Mnuchin and Trump try to help their corporate rich friends, whether it's through shell corporations or direct monies, these loans that McConnell insisted on are no deal for these companies, and many of them legitimate small businesses that need help. But many of them will likely be the Secretary of Treasury's cronies, and we will have oversight and shine a light on them and reporting requirements so we can preempt some of it.

What overall do you think is missing that you would like to see addressed in a future deal, or even at the state level? Yeah, I don't think there's enough for moderate-income workers in here that always bear the brunt of these things. I mean, I heard in these negotiations, Senator Toomey, I was in the room, I was in the room by phone, because I think we shouldn't be exposing ourselves to each other as much as Mitch McConnell has sort of prescripted that we prescribe that we do in these meetings, but to do these by phone.

But I heard him say, when I said we need specific language so people can't be evicted, 25% of people who rent in this country spend more than half their income on housing, on rent. So there's going to be all kinds of potential, all kinds of problems with eviction. When I said in that meeting that how important it was to have language for eviction, he said, hey, you've got all this liberal unemployment insurance and you're sending the check out. What more do they need? Like these people are, you know, in tall cotton. So, I mean, we've got to focus on moderate-income workers that continue to get screwed by this system

and are hurt more in the coronavirus than certainly airline executives. But, you know, everybody's hurting. But we've got to focus there. We've got to particularly focus on how to get protective equipment for all health care workers, not just those in the hospitals, but those who are making the rounds home to home, like home care workers and nurses that do that. Because the president showed no leadership. I led a letter to get the president to invoke something called the Defense Production Act

so you could get companies to start making this stuff. And Trump basically said yes and didn't do anything with it. So I'm trying to do some things with a bunch of companies around the country that I know to get them to transition into doing more. So all of those things that need to be part of the next round, absent presidential leadership. Why do you think that there has been all of this confusion from him about the Defense Production Act? Because we've sort of seen on a day-to-day basis, either him or another administration official talking about using it for one thing or the other, and then it seems to change again within 12 hours or something. What is it there that is the hang-up? Well, I was puzzled by it until it was explained to me from somebody that sort of knows Trump

better than I do personally, and said that he doesn't think government should ever tell a company what to do. I mean, he's a successful businessman in some ways. He's made a lot of money, not as much as he says, but he's done it by often using government. But he doesn't think government should ever tell a business. I mean, he always, as a business guy himself, he resented civil rights laws in terms of renting his apartment. He resented worker safety laws. He resented worker laws generally because he wanted to be able to be a cowboy and do whatever he wanted. Well, I think it just personally bothers him that it's his philosophy that he doesn't think government should tell business what to do.

Well, this is a national emergency, and he's not a businessman anymore. He's the president of the United States. And everybody I talk to, I'm doing a conference call again this afternoon with 20 hospitals in Ohio, and everybody I've talked to on this, from fire chiefs who send their men and women out on rescue missions, who send rescue squads not knowing what they're going to see but need protection. All of them are just dying for this stuff, literally. And the president's just talking about it. What are sort of some of the actual mechanisms by which he can be compelled to to invoke it?

I know that there's there's some talk of different legislation around there on on DPA. But what do you think is sort of the best course of action here to, you know, get the president to actually move on that? He needs to, I mean, he's got the connection to it. He needs to sort of surveil the manufacturing landscape in the country. He's got to figure which companies can most quickly and efficiently and safely transition. I'm talking to a guy at noon today who makes Q-tips, and they're made in Cleveland. It's not a Cleveland company, but they're made in Cleveland. They could pretty

easily transition into cotton swabs. It's a different technology. It's a different cotton, I guess, a different fabric, and it's a longer stick. But it's something they could do. Well, they need to be paid to do it because it's not as cheap as it sounds to transition, and they need a guaranteed market. So the president simply goes to companies like that and said, we want you to do this. Here's what we'll pay you. You're not going to lose money on it. Here's what we'll do at the end when this is over so you can get back to your business. I mean, the government spent a lot of money. If we can spend a lot of money on the airlines, that the airline executives will find ways of taking some of it. We sure as hell can spend money on helping these companies transition.

So home care workers that go house to house in Mansfield or Wadsworth or Akron, Ohio, can be safe for themselves and for their families and for their patients. Another question that pertains to sort of the timeline here, because we hear a lot of different things from, you know, health officials, elected officials and the president. Obviously, you know, Trump said that he wanted to get the economy back on its feet by Easter. What do you think when you hear something like that. I think it's time to stop listening. I think it's time for the networks or whoever, the cable companies or whatever, to quit broadcasting the president's live speeches, because I think they don't serve any purpose. They mislead.

You know, he says take certain medicines. Somebody died from overtaking too much of one of those medicines not long ago. I think we listen to health professionals. I think it was an idiotic thing to say. I mean, you can't set a date. Nobody I know thinks that. Nobody who's involved in any care of human beings thinks that was a smart statement. I know he wants to get the economy up again.

I do too. But that way to do it is to get people safe and feeling safe and being safe. If we'd had a seven or eight week start on this instead of the delay that came about because of the president's actions, we'd be far, far ahead of the curve now. And yet, given all that, it's interesting, there is some polling that is showing that the response, or Trump at least, is being viewed somewhat positively at the moment. Do you get concerned that there isn't a strong enough kind of counter message to him from Democrats on coronavirus?

Well, I think that if people, the more people pay attention, the more they see how incompetent and dishonest he's been during this crisis. I think polling numbers are up and I don't pay a lot of attention to polls about this kind now. I know of it, as you said, but polling numbers are up because whenever there's a crisis, the president's numbers go up. I mean, George Bush I was up to 90% favorable. George Bush, after September 11th, George Bush Jr. was at, I don't know, 85 or 80 or something. So people always look to the president.

Just the fact that they're walking by a TV and they see him on, standing there looking presidential, I guess. Some number of people say, yeah, that's good. He's a strong leader. Well, but it's still only up to 50 for low 50s. I mean, other presidents would be 60 or 70 if they were presidents that actually were competent and knew how to handle this. That was Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio. We'll continue to be tracking the government's response as this story moves forward. It's Thursday, WOD Squad.

It's Thirsty Thursday. You drinking enough water? Because I am not. I'll work on it. I'll figure it out. But it's check-in time. It's a good time not to harsh your mellow with all the panic outside. We're inside.

We're chilling. Gideon, what outside activities have you done at a safe social distance? Well, I've been trying to run most days, but I don't know that I'm always maintaining the six feet. And I got to, you know, cast some aspersions on other people who are, you know, getting a little bit close. So I need to develop a nice, you know, socially gracious way of wagging a finger or, you know, not running into the street to get away from people. But that's mostly what I've been doing. Well, that's super polite. Somebody was walking their dog and they were on like their phone, not paying attention. And I literally turned around. I was like, Brittany, you need to back up.

There you go. And she she did not like me calling her Brittany, but she did stop walking her dog into my back. And that's all I can ask. Look, there are two ways to go about it. I'm not saying which one is right. It sounds like that was effective. Right. It worked.

And I didn't have to run into traffic again. Not that there's traffic. No one's outside. But yeah. Same cue for you, though. The sun finally came out. Have you been outside? Are you getting that vitamin D?

I have been outside a little bit. So I, I have like a little backyard area and I have a little like courtyard area in the front. And so I've been trying to do some like learning how to roller skate, which has been nice. I think that I'm getting there. I haven't fallen at all. I'm getting more confident, like lifting my feet off the ground. And so hopefully, you know, if we're going to be in here for a little while, then maybe I'll be good at it at the end. That would be a very sick skill to like come out of this demonstration, you know? Yeah, I think so. All right. Well, this was a quick temperature check. This name is now in the lead. We all like it. Don't play. Let us know how you're experiencing fresh air on Twitter. Be safe. Wash those hands often. And we will catch up to you

all on our own personal lives tomorrow. So stay sane out there. Let's wrap up with some headlines. Headlines. Mississippi joined Texas and Ohio in further restricting access to abortion during the current public health crisis. Each of those states have declared abortion a, quote, non-essential surgical procedure, meaning that abortions will be deferred or canceled during the pandemic. State officials argue that it's necessary in order to preserve medical resources for those treating COVID-19 cases. Abortion rights groups say that abortion should

be considered an essential procedure. I mean, it's not like patients can wait until the pandemic is over to get a safe abortion. And they say that officials are taking advantage of the health crisis to advance their political agendas. Well, I say that they're idiots. All right. Uber is suing the city of Los Angeles over its location tracking practices involving the company's shared scooters. This is the latest out of an ongoing dispute over a rule that requires Uber to share

the real-time location data of its jump scooters with the city. Officials have argued that the data is used to manage traffic on public streets and to reduce safety hazards without taking anyone's personal information. But Uber says that even without the personal info, the data could be used by government agencies Scooters are not for me. Faced with more time inside, Americans in coronavirus hotspots are turning to the original home entertainment system, an adorable new pet. Two rescue organizations in New York City said that shelters they work with

are either all out or mostly out of dogs and cats after as much as a tenfold increase in applications over the last two weeks. That is great. That has coincided with a rise in stocks for some pet-related companies like Chewy Inc. and PetMed Express Inc., even as the market generally shits the bed. LA has seen a similar spike in new dog parents. The ASPCA reported a 70% increase in animals going into foster care. People looking for a more temporary, more insanity inducing pet alternative can pay $20 to stream cats. Oh, come on.

Amazon prime. We brought it back. It's back to WOD. We love to say no, no, let's let the cats die. All right. So what do the theme song to Mr.

Rogers neighborhood, Dr. Dre's the chronic and the original cast album for Fiddler on the Roof have in common? Well, apart from being three bad soundtracks to a romantic night in, they've all just been added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry. So every year, the registry selects 25 recordings that are, quote, culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant. Those three made the cut this year, along with selections from Tina Turner, Cheap Trick, and a baseball game from 1951 that one or two people apparently have time to listen to. The library is calling this year's inductees, quote, the ultimate stay-at-home playlist, which is talking a pretty big game when every playlist is a stay-at-home playlist. And those are the headlines.

That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, spot us a quarter and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just minds like me, what a day is also nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at cricket.com slash subscribe. I'm Akilah Hughes. I'm Gideon Resnick. And go watch Bark on your home entertainment system. I'm watching cats. I'm watching Bark. I'm getting cats. I'm getting Barks.

What a day is a product of Cricut Media. It's recorded and mixed by Charlotte Landis. Sonia Tun is our assistant producer. Our head writer is John Milstein and our senior producer is Katie Long. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.