Mike Dorning
Bloomberg News
The Biden administration is quietly laying the groundwork for a long-term increase in food aid for tens of millions of Americans, without going through the ordeal of a fight with congressional Republicans.
The instrument is an obscure U.S. Department of Agriculture shopping list used to determine food stamp benefits, known as the market basket.
A review of the so-called Thrifty Food Plan, ordered by Biden two days after he took office, could trigger an automatic increase in benefits as soon as Oct. 1, a day after expiration of a temporary 15% boost in food stamp payments that Biden included in his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.
House Committee Expected to Advance ‘SECURE Act 2.0’
Commenting on the expected legislative action, sources agree the stakes remain high when it comes to addressing the U.S. retirement security gap.
Reported by
The House Ways and Means Committee has scheduled a markup session for 11 a.m. EST, May 5 i.e., tomorrow focused on advancing the “Securing a Strong Retirement Act.”
A markup session is where a committee formally considers a bill and debates amendments, should any be put forward by committee members. Typically, such sessions conclude with a vote on a final version of a bill for full House floor consideration, though other outcomes are possible that would potentially pause or slow the bill’s progress. Should the committee advance the bill by majority vote, it is possible the full House could vote on the legislation in the coming weeks or months.
Biden, Powell paddling in same direction on policy front
Within a span of six hours last week, U.S. President Joe Biden and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell embarked on a potentially historic course, pairing massive government spending and ultra-easy monetary policy in an effort not just to rescue the economy from a recession but to reset its trajectory.
Powell’s motivation is to push the limits of a job market rebound as far as possible, a goal that is a step beyond what the U.S. central bank has done before and which he restated Wednesday in an emphatic pledge to get Americans back to work.
Ben Caspit speaks this week to professor Chuck Freilich, a senior fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. This expert on Israel’s national security strategy and Israel’s decision-making processes details five failures which brought about the tragedy of Mount Meron, where 45 people were trampled to death last week. For Freilich, the first reason relates to Israel’s top political leadership including the prime minister, the minister of the interior, the minister of religious affairs and the minister of domestic security.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Within a span of six hours last week, U.S. President Joe Biden and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell embarked on a potentially historic course, pairing massive government spending and ultra-easy monetary policy in an effort not just to rescue the economy from a recession but to reset its trajectory.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden addresses a joint session of Congress as Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) applaud, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, U.S. April 28, 2021. Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS