Loans, and rental insurance. If youre at home thinking that doesnt sound like much for the millions struggling to survive, youre not alone. Alana presley had this to say on thursday. Our families deserve direct cash, real survival cash. 600 is hardly sufficient. Its an insult. We must act to save lives now. The pandemic has not lifted in its hardship. As a reminder, this is why americans are so desperate for congress to iron out the details of this relief bill. Just this week alone, nearly a million new jobless claims were filed. Nearly 8 million americans are now living in poverty after a dramatic increase over the summer, and according to a Census Bureau report, about onethird of all u. S. Households say theyre at risk of losing their homes within the next two months. Joining me now is senator chris coons of delaware. Senator, thank you so much for joining me. I know you guys are hard at work on the senate. I have to ask you for the millions of people watching right now, when exactly can we expect a vote to pass this bill . Well, tiffany, i am waiting for that final vote with the same level of anxiety, concern, even anger that so many from delaware have been calling me about. It is still days away. I think we will finally pass this package on monday or tuesday here in the senate. Were here this weekend to vote on more judges, but we frankly should be closing this deal and delivering billions of dollars of assistance to americans who are facing eviction, hunger, joblessness, and homelessness. Its going to be a roughly 900 billion assistance package. Its going to send about 25 billion to the 6 million americans who are behind on their rent. Its going to extend the Eviction Moratorium. Its going to send about a 300aweek additional federal payment for unemployment that includes an expanded group of people who are unemployed. And that 600 check is for everyone whos eligible including adult dependents and children if youre below the income threshold. So for a family of four, it could end up being a 2,400 payment ffrmt those behind in their rent, facing unemployment, and dealing with hunger, this is going to be a significant down payment on the relief the American People really need and deserve. Ive got to be honest, senator. I think those are all great things, but for many families that sounds like a drop in the bucket. Lets just say we get to a few days from now. Will you pass another extension or a bill . What happens if you dont get consensus . Well, tiffany, theres two Different Things going on here. One is trying to pass the annual spending bill that keeps the federal government open. We could pass that today. We could have passed it yesterday. Majority leader mcconnell is holding that up until we get this additional 900 billion covid stimulus package. The first one that keeps the government open, thats about 1. 4 trill. That will get passed. The 900 billion, theres Little Things that some members are raising at the last minute. We should have gotten this done months and months ago. Ill remind you, tiffany, the house passed more than six months ago a 3 trillion relief package that would have met all these human needs, and we waited month after month while Mick Mcconnell insiftd on no more than 5 billion. What were ending up with is closer to 1 trillion and will end up with a down pavement what we do know is when joe biden and Kamala Harris take office in january, were going to have to come back and do this again. Lets pretend people are watch dwhoejt read eight newspapers a morning, who do not follow Senate Procedure, who are not familiar, how do we keept ending up we negotiations. Here we are again on the brink of a shutdown, food lines are getting longer, winter is coming, people dont know how to pay their rent. How is it the government is in this position repeat lid . Ill remind you, tiffany. Democrats control the house and passed a big spending bill months ago and republicans control the senate and refuse to agree. So their proposal months ago was 500 billion. The democratic proposal was 3 trillion. And trying to get anywhere in the middle is what has occupied eight months or seven months of fighting now. We are getting almost double the 500 billion that was offered by the republicans, but there are two dozen republican senators who think we should not be doing any more stimulus, who dont see the need that you and i see every day. Right. And thats been our major problem because they contr. Because they control the senate, they can refuse. Youre talking to a woman, 35, a single mother of two, double have any money, 35 in her bank account, shes worried about paying her rent, and shes wondering when will the bill pass that we can expect payments . Can i nail you down on a date when we can answer her question . I believe the bill will pass on tuesday, but im not the person whos holding it up. Im the person showing up every day and saying we cannot go home until we deliver that leaf to her. The main impact it will have on her life will be extending the Eviction Moratorium so she isnt facing eviction and sending money that will help pay for that rent and sending additional individual stimulus payments. If shes got a filed income tax for the last year, if she got the check from last march, she will get that new check of 600 or in her case maybe 1,800, very quickly, probably in january. All right, senator. I know youre hard at work on capitol hill just behind me, and i want to impress upon you the desperation of the American People. I appreciate your taking the time to talk with us this morning, and do keep me posted on when the bill might pass. Thank you so much. Joining me now is congresswoman. Miya. I know youve been holding the line. I want to start with housing. A record millions of people stand too be homeless. What in this bill addresses that need . Yeah. Thank you, tiffany. And thank you for the focus youre bringing to the frustration of millions of people across the country including those of us in congress who have been trying to hold the line saying, no, we have to get money in peoples pockets. On housing, the mortatorium will be extended in this package and there is 25 billion of rental assistance thats part of this package. I have to tell you this is not sufficient. Were going to have to invest with the next ads ministration hopefully with a Democratic Senate who wont hold up these relief bills. Were going to have to invest much, much more into housing. People dont fall into homelessness. They dont fall into poverty. Those are policy choices. We allow for mass unemployment to happen. We allow for poverty to rise. We allow for evictions to happen. And so this is on us, on the federal government. Weve got to step up and step in. And, frankly, yes, it is absolutely the case that donald trump and the republicans have been cruel and intransigent. Its why its so important for voters to turn out in georgia and make sure we have control of the senate so we can pass a 3. 5 trillion, 4. 5 trillion package when we get back in january or february because thats really what families across the country need, money in their pockets, money in their pockets, food on their table, a roof over their heads. Simple, simple, necessary things. Im glad you brought that up because really this onetime 600 payment is like putting a bandaid on a bullet wound. People are going to have do decide on food, shelter, or medication. What resource can you offer to people who its the Holiday Season and theyre just desperate. Theyre desperate and theyre looking to the federal government for help. Its heartbreaking. This is why the congressional caucus held the line. 48 hours before the relief checks were announced i call them survival checks were announced, there was nothing in the package. We held the line, we whipped our members and said if this bill does not contain direct relief checks and expanded unemployment insurance, will you vote no, and our members, you know, universally said were not voting for a package without these direct payments to people, without unemployment insurance. We i mean that was what got those checks into the package to start with. And also thanks to senator sanders and senator holly for saying the same thing. This isnt even a partisan i. Its a bipartisan belief that we have to have that in there. What do i say to the constituents writing in every single day like the mom you mentioned. I say to them we will help you get access to every program that there is, city, state, and federal so you can stay in your homes. But at the end of the day, we just need more. Our city in seattle has been generous with people, and so there are some local programs that people can talk to their Congress Members about trying to get access to. But hang if there. Just hang in there. Were going to do a little bit right now. Hopefully that gets us through the next month. In the midst of a snowstorm, youll be able to pay another month of heat bills, put food on the table, and weve got to come back in january and pass something that is significant and that meets the scale of this crisis. One of the compromises that was made was theres no money going to state and local aid. Now, that money helps pay for frontline workers and all kind of essential services. Why was that such a nonstarter for the gop . Theyre holding that money hostage to a liability shield waiver. Now, for the average person out there, what the heck is that . That says that if youre a worker and you, you know, have a lawsuit to file against your employer for violating your rights, workers rights on the job, things prescribed by law that people cant do, nobody can bring a lawsuit for 18 months in that situation, not even related dough individual. And you know we have workers right now who are having their employers completely violate the laws, and theyre getting covid. This isnt related to covid. But even those workers wouldnt be able to bring any lawsuits. Its absurd. Thats why the republicans basically knew the democrats wanted the state and local money and they said, nope, were going to hold that hostage, and unless you give us this ridiculous liability shield waiver, we are not going to let you have the state and local money. Now that said, there is money for states to have vaccine distribution, there is money for child care, there is money in there that will end up going to states, but localities in particular are going to be really hurt, and states as you know have all of the Safety Net Services to administer to people in times of need, and theyre going to probably still end up having to lay off millions of people right when we need the State Government to function fully. Congresswoman, there are people right now hanging on by a thread. At your best estimate, when can people expect these payments . When can a vote pass . When can people get some relief . I think it will be a few weeks. I think if we pass this bill on monday or tuesday as senator coons said do you think it will pass on monday or tuesday . Yeah. If it passes on monday or tuesday, then i think it will be another three weeks before those checks go out, you know. The other pieces of it unemployment assistance, i think, will be eligible right away, so most people in ton employment rolls can just continue to apply for their unemployment. Thats huge. And people who are you know, you mentioned a Million People a week that are getting laid off, which, by the way, i want to say again, thats a policy choice. I had a bill back in march called the paycheck recovery act that would have kept people in their jobs and would have prevented mass unemployment. So i think that that is you know, people will get that unemployment relief more quickly, but the checks will probably take a little bit longer. The Eviction Moratorium, obviously, will be in effect right away. That will help people stay in their homes. But i have to say to millions of people who are watching right now, hang if there. We are with you. The republicans cruelty in this moment is stunning, but then we have a president who allowed 300,000 americans to die. So this is the situation were in, and weve got to fix it with this next administration. Be bold, make structural changes, and really fundamentally change the dynamics so people have a shot at a decent life. Well, congresswoman, i watch the bills coming out of the house. The rent is due on january 1st, and i completely know how that is. But thank you so much for joining us and trying to bring sense to all of this. For those of you watching at home, i completely understand the situation some of you may be in and ill continue to ask the questions that are relevant to you in this urgent situation right now. So my thanks again to congresswoman jayapal, and we hope this bill gets passed soon to get money in the pockets of American People who need it so badly right now. Another desperate situation is happening right now with covid19, and as a new vaccine is on the way, ill give you the details up next. Stay tuned. Ed soft chimes [announcer] forget about vacuuming for up to a month. Shark iq robot deep cleans and empties itself into a base you empty as little as once a month. And unlike standard robots that bounce around it cleans row by row. If its not a shark, its just a robot. S uh um. Its shiori. Shori. Thank you, thats great. Shiori. I really love it. Youre choosing to get connected to the most to xfinity mobile, Reliable Network nationwide, now with 5g included. Discover how to save up to 400 a year with shared data starting at 15 a month, or get the lowest price for one line of unlimited. Come into your local xfinity store to make the most of your mobile experience. You can shop the latest phones, bring your own device, or trade in for extra savings. Stop in or book an appointment to shop safely with peace of mind at your local xfinity store. Ill be covid. Theyre not in the icu because weve run out of space upstairs. With the pandemic surging in states like california where the icu capacity is now at zero percent. You heard it correctly. The food and Drug Administration has authorized the emergency use of a second Covid Vaccine clearing the way for nearly 6 million doses to be shipped across the weekend starting this weekend. The Moderna Vaccine follows the Pfizer Vaccine but it can be distributed more widely because it doesnt need to be stored in the ultracold temperatures. But while the vaccines are desperately needed, several states were notified their second pfizer shipment would be drastically cut. The Trump Administration has suggested the company is having trouble with production, but pfizer says, no, that aint it. It has millions of doses sitting in its warehouse but has not received any shipping instructions for additional doses. And many of you still have questions about the vaccine itself, and we have two people who can answer them. Paging now, dr. Michelle chester. She administered the first coronavirus in new york. We were all watching along. And dr. Vin gupta, a pulmonologist and msnbc political contributor who received the vaccine live on the tortd show. I watched both of those. I want to start with you. We just talked with congresswoman jayapal and senator chris coons. I want to ask you about this bill. Is the money thats being held up, will that help to expedite the shipment of vaccines to the states who so desperately need them . Good morning, tiffany. Of course, its going to help. Ultimately at the end of if day, once we start distributing this to the general population, were going to need more trained staff. Were going to need more robust state and local departments of health [ indiscernible ] so, of course, extra Public Health funding is going to help build that infrastructure we need now and in the long term to help with the vaccine drives, to help with future pandemic preparedne preparedness, so, yes, absolutely. Dr. Gupta, i want to stay with you for a second. Is there a difference between the Moderna Vaccine and the Pfizer Vaccine . Is there a different between the side effects one may feel . What do you say . Tiffany, this is a rapidly evolving landscape in terms of our knowledge, let me start by saying that. Are there differences . From what we know and a lot of what we know is based on press releases, but now we actually have these briefs that have been produced for the fda, we know that both of these vaccines are very safe and very effective in preventing severe infection. We know theres rare instances in the Pfizer Vaccine where there might be if youve had a predisposition to an allergic reaction, you may have an adverse event thats readily treatable. These appear to be very rare. With moderna there doesnt appear to be any major side effects in addition. Really, theres only a mild side effect profile, headaches, lowgrade temps, things of that nature. Moderna provided early signs that their vaccine if that bears ritss out to be true, thats a big deal. Faizer is answering that question right now. If they can provide against transmission, thats a big deal. If you become vaccinated, theres a less chance of you transmitting the virus and ending up in the icu. Weve seen people get the first vaccine. We want to see what happens when they get the second vaccine. A lot of people are in my inbox with ridiculous things. Dr. Chester, youre overseeing the inoculation of the staff which includes doctors, nurses, and other frontline workers. Im curious will others have to show up to get the vaccine, the janitorial staff, cafeteria work, the food workers. Are those people going to have to get the vaccine as well . Absolutely. We basically rolled out this Vaccination Program in a phased approach. Were looking at your job risk, your age. There are difference factors that contributed to how the phased approach is being taken. At the end of the day, the goal is to have all of our staff members, all of our team members vaccinated. That is our goal because everyone everyone counts, everyone is valuable, and everyone is needed there for our community. Dr. Chester, let me stick with you. So theres a lot of people i think this whole Vaccination Campaign is one of the most ambitious in american history.