In other news, Speaker Nancy Pelosi says a $15 minimum wage hike will be included in the House-passed coronavirus relief package.
Meanwhile, Republicans who control the Mississippi state Senate have voted to ban transgender girls and women from sports. The bill specifically targets girls, not transgender boys who also exist.
Finally, Republicans are trying very hard to fuck their own states out of relief.
As many as 76,000 households in Idaho have struggled to make rent payments during the pandemic, and 34,000 households may soon face the threat of eviction, according to the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy. To address the housing crisis, the state is set to receive $200 million in emergency rental assistance — their share of the $25 billion in housing aid in the Covid relief bill passed by Congress in December.
But in a budget committee hearing on Feb. 8., Idaho State Representative Ron Nate argued that the state shouldn’t take the aid. “Going forward into the future, seems like we’re choosing between economy and dependency,” the GOP lawmaker said. He and three other Idaho Republicans voted to reject the federal assistance.
Imagine voting for people like this. I can't.
My brother turns 40 years old on Monday and it's slightly surreal for me to even say that. For whatever reason, thinking about him turning 40 reminded me of riding in the back of his Chevy Beretta in high school. It feels like it was last week, but it was actually 23 years ago. The way our memories work is odd.
We'll be back in action here on Tuesday.