| Democrats' Covid-19 relief bill will become law this week; Myanmar's military is seizing territory and cracking down on journalists. Tonight's Sentences was written by Gabby Birenbaum. | | | | | | | Relief is almost on the way | | | | | STRF/STAR MAX/IPx/AP Images | | - The House of Representatives is set to pass President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill early on Wednesday. The President is expected to sign it Thursday in a triumphant moment for Democrats early into Biden's term. [The New York Times / Thomas Kaplan]
- The House had previously passed the bill, but now has to vote on the Senate version, which changed the targeting of stimulus checks and cut a provision implementing a $15 minimum wage. [CNN / Clare Foran, Kristin Wilson, and Annie Grayer]
- Democratic leadership and the Congressional Progressive Caucus alike have championed the bill as a historic progressive measure, with enormous implications for lowering poverty rates and a significant welfare expansion. [The Washington Post / Erica Werner]
- Zero Republican lawmakers are expected to support the bill, which enjoys significant popularity in polling. Between individual $1,400 stimulus checks, the child tax credit, and targeted aid, Democrats are betting Republicans will pay for their opposition to the bill's benefits. [Politico / Sarah Ferris]
- Individuals earning under $75,000, based on 2020 income tax returns, and married couples making under $150,000, as well as their adult dependents, are eligible to receive $1,400. The benefits then phase out, stopping at $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for couples. [Vox / Cameron Peters]
- The bill also includes billions of dollars in funding for vaccines, state and local aid, safe school reopening, and unemployment. [USA Today / Nicholas Wu]
- The bill represents a potential turning point in American attitudes, away from the Reagan-era portrayal of the federal government as incompetent and unhelpful and toward a new belief that the government should directly help people. [The Associated Press / Josh Boak and Lisa Mascaro]
- Meanwhile, instead of discussing the bill's enormous price tag, as they typically would, Republicans are using their platforms to deride "cancel culture" and discuss Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head. That strategy gives Biden and Democrats a level of messaging room that Presidents Clinton and Obama did not have. [CNN / Ronald Brownstein]
- For more policy analysis, don't miss our Weeds newsletter. Every Friday, we break down the biggest policy stories of the Biden administration. Sign up here.
| | | Myanmar's military crackdown | | - Myanmar's military, which seized control in a coup earlier this year, is cracking down on the country's citizens, seizing hospitals, temples, and universities and revoking media licenses. [The New York Times / Hannah Beech]
- Protests against the military regime throughout the country have been met with brutal force. At least 54 people have been killed and nearly 1,800 have been arrested, including at hospitals, where police have detained wounded people. [NPR / Matthew S. Schwartz]
- The military junta has detained dozens of journalists, revoked the media licenses of five local outlets and raided two media organizations. The military appears to be moving toward a society in which state television is the only sanctioned media. [The Associated Press / Elaine Kurtenbach]
- An 8 pm curfew has been imposed, but protesters have continued to take to the streets after hours, singing pro-democracy chants. At night, police shoot randomly throughout neighborhoods and bang on doors looking for protesters. [The Associated Press]
- An overnight standoff this week left protesters barricaded into one district as police made dozens of detainments without a warrant and trapped people. [Al Jazeera]
| | | | | | | The Pfizer vaccine has been shown to be effective against the Brazilian coronavirus variant in a study. | | | | | | | Support our journalism | | Reader contributions help keep Vox and newsletters like Sentences free for all. Support our work from as little as $3. | | | | | | | | | | "I couldn't believe he said something. It matters. It eased minds that might be worried about losing their job." | | | | | | | | | | |
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