Discern Report is the fastest growing America First news aggregator in the nation.
In a virtual meeting this week, President Biden urged Senate Democrats to calibrate their thinking on the COVID relief package headed their way. Biden underscored the importance of passing the bill and made clear to the senators the reality of accepting provisions they may not favor for their razor-thin margin to prevail.
Article by Pennel Bird from Liberty Nation.
The president framed the discussion by highlighting the expectations of Americans economically devastated by the widespread business closures, job losses, social impacts of the pandemic, and a year of lockdowns. Some of the line items discussed during the Senate Democratic Caucus lunchtime meeting included how jobless benefits are to be structured.
Some lawmakers debated whether those benefits should be scaled back from the $400 amount passed in the House bill to $300, and the issue is still unresolved. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-VA) is pushing for the latter amount, while his colleague, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DL), says he won’t vote for an amount less than the former.
Biden’s petition to Senate Democrats comes approximately six weeks after his inauguration, amid loud misgivings from many about the excess jobs lost when he ended construction of the Keystone pipeline and the Wall. The president is under considerable duress to get a package passed that assures Americans at a loss because of his executive orders that they will not be forgotten. And with a 50-50 partisan split in the Senate and Vice President Kamala Harris casting the swing vote in case of a tie, there is little room for a misstep.
The staggeringly costly 1.9 trillion COVID relief package passed the House on Saturday, and the pressure is now on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to will it through the Senate. The package includes funding for schools, direct checks to Americans, aid to small businesses, and money for vaccine distribution. It may be taken up for a vote as early as this week.
Senator Jon Tester of Montana characterized Biden as mainly present at the virtual meeting to listen to ideas, amendments, and changes suggested by Senate Democrats, but implied that only modest changes would ultimately be made and that reducing the $1.9 trillion price tag was a non-starter for now. In a recent press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated:
(The President’s) “focus this week and the coming weeks until it’s passed is on the American Rescue Plan. We’re going to be evaluating day by day what the needs are. We’ve reserved time in his schedule to ensure that he can be engaged, roll up his sleeves, and be personally involved in making phone calls, having more Zoom meetings, potentially having people in the Oval Office to make sure we can get across the finish line. He will be very involved personally.”
For his part, Schumer said he expected “late nights” and “hardy debate” on the relief package and possible amendments to it. The reason for Schumer’s expectation that Senate Democrats will burn the midnight oil trying to craft a stimulus that can be ratified in their chamber is the overarching issue that the relief bill is being considered under budget reconciliation rules that allow senators to force votes on as many amendments as they see fit. This means that with the backing of 49 Republican senators, just two Democrats defecting from their party could see the bill amended.
Democrats are further motivated by a rapidly closing window before jobless benefits are set to expire for Americans on March 14. The black eye the Democrats would sustain from failing to pass the bill before that date is no doubt focusing their efforts. But Republicans have been more or less unified in opposition to the bill, which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) described as a “bonanza of partisan spending they’re calling a pandemic relief package.”
One thing is certain: The provision to increase the minimum wage that passed in the House last weekend will be excised from the Senate bill based on a ruling by the Senate Parliamentarian. That issue will have to be taken up separately and may be Senate Republicans’ hill to die on. Mitt Romney (R-UT) proposed a $10 minimum wage to counter the $15 proposal in the House. And with conservative accusations of excessive pork and a yawning $5 divide between the Senate majority and minority on the minimum wage, there is much ado in Washington this week about relief for Americans suffering from a year of economic privation.
~
Read more from author Pennel Bird.
‘The Purge’ by Big Tech targets conservatives, including us
Just when we thought the Covid-19 lockdowns were ending and our ability to stay afloat was improving, censorship reared its ugly head.
For the last few months, NOQ Report has appealed to our readers for assistance in staying afloat through Covid-19 lockdowns. The downturn in the economy has limited our ability to generate proper ad revenue just as our traffic was skyrocketing. We had our first sustained stretch of three months with over a million visitors in November, December, and January, but February saw a dip.
It wasn’t just the shortened month. We expected that. We also expected the continuation of dropping traffic from “woke” Big Tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, but it has actually been much worse than anticipated. Our Twitter account was banned. One of our YouTube accounts was banned and another has been suspended. Facebook “fact-checks” everything we post. Spotify canceled us. Why? Because we believe in the truth prevailing, and that means we will continue to discuss “taboo” topics.
The 2020 presidential election was stolen. You can’t say that on Big Tech platforms without risking cancelation, but we’d rather get cancelled for telling the truth rather than staying around to repeat mainstream media’s lies. They have been covering it up since before the election and they’ve convinced the vast majority of conservative news outlets that they will be harmed if they continue to discuss voter fraud. We refuse to back down. The truth is the truth.
The lies associated with Covid-19 are only slightly more prevalent than the suppression of valid scientific information that runs counter to the prescribed narrative. We should be allowed to ask questions about the vaccines, for example, as there is ample evidence for concern. One does not have to be an “anti-vaxxer” in order to want answers about vaccines that are still considered experimental and that have a track record in a short period of time of having side-effects. These questions are not allowed on Big Tech which is just another reason we are getting cancelled.
There are more topics that they refuse to allow. In turn, we refuse to stop discussing them. This is why we desperately need your help. The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We are on track to be short by about $5300 per month in order to maintain operations.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. We had 5,657,724 sessions on our website from November, 2020, through February, 2021. Our intention is to elevate that to higher levels this year by focusing on a strategy that relies on free speech rather than being beholden to progressive Big Tech companies.
During that four-month stretch, Twitter and Facebook accounted for about 20% of our traffic. We are actively working on operating as if that traffic is zero, replacing it with platforms that operate more freely such as Gab, Parler, and others. While we were never as dependent on Big Tech as most conservative sites, we’d like to be completely free from them. That doesn’t mean we will block them, but we refuse to be beholden to companies that absolutely despise us simply because of our political ideology.
We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
Bitcoin: 32SeW2Ajn86g4dATWtWreABhEkiqxsKUGn
American Conservative Movement
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 11,000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.
[yikes-mailchimp form=”1″]
Covid variant BA.5 is spreading. It appears milder but much more contagious and evades natural immunity. Best to boost your immune system with new Z-Dtox and Z-Stack nutraceuticals from our dear friend, the late Dr. Vladimir Zelenko.