Politics and Government News

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How the COVID relief bill could help reshape the finances of American families
Included in the bill is a provision that provides many parents an allowance of $250 a month for each child and $300 for kids under 6. Although set to last only through this year, many experts see it as a potentially game-changing initiative to fight poverty.
Defense Production Act speeds up vaccine production -- though it's hard to track
A 1950 law allows the government to award contracts that take priority over all others for national defense. During the pandemic, the law has been used to defend the country against the coronavirus.
FEMA to help manage unaccompanied minors at U.S.-Mexico border
The Biden administration is turning to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help managing and caring for record numbers of unaccompanied immigrant children who are streaming into the United States by illegally crossing the border with Mexico.
Critics call Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson's insurrection comments racist
Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson is being called racist for an interview in which the white Republican said he wasn't worried about the predominantly white supporters of President Donald Trump during the deadly insurrection at the Capitol, but that he might have been if they had been Black Lives Matter protesters.
Black farmers have long faced discrimination. New aid aims to right past wrongs
Generations of systemic discrimination have decimated the number of Black farmers in the U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talked with NPR about provisions in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill that are meant to help Black farmers.
Sanders: Americans care more about $1,400 checks from aid plan than lack of GOP votes
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who helped shepherd the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan through Congress, says the package is "the most consequential piece of legislation for working families" in decades.
IRS says new round of COVID relief payments on the way
Along with daylight saving time, this weekend could bring Americans fatter bank balances. Officials at the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service say processing the new round of stimulus payments has already begun.