Biden lays out plans...and price tag

[link removed]
Today's a big day for my family. My mother, who lives with us, is finally getting her first shot of the coronavirus vaccine. It's been a long time coming, as the vaccine rollout in our area hasn't been particularly smooth. A woman in her seventies with qualifying health conditions and living in a multigenerational household shouldn't have had to wait so long. Nevertheless, we're finally making progress, and we're grateful for that. As the nation debates thorny matters such as vaccine passports and vaccine nationalism—and prepares to expand access to more people, including children—the basics still hit close to home. How about you? Have you gotten your vaccine yet? How did it go? How would you rate your state on vaccine distribution? Click here ([link removed]) to tell us about your experience. —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor

NEW TO THE TOPLINE? SUBSCRIBE NOW ([link removed])
Love THE TOPLINE? Help us spread the word and earn TOPLINE rewards here ([link removed]) .
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed]'s%20Daily%20Digest: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Fstanduprepublic.com%2Fthetopline033121 Tweet ([link removed]'s%20Daily%20Digest: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Fstanduprepublic.com%2Fthetopline033121)
[link removed] Forward ([link removed])


** Pittsburgh preps for POTUS
------------------------------------------------------------

President Biden is unveiling his expansive infrastructure plan in the Steel City this afternoon. The proposal, which carries an initial $2 trillion price tag, would translate into 20,000 miles of rebuilt roads, repairs to the 10 most economically important bridges in the country, the elimination of lead pipes and service lines from the nation's water supplies, and a long list of other projects intended to create millions of jobs and strengthen American competitiveness. ([link removed])
* — Called the "American Jobs Plan," the proposal includes a wide range of physical infrastructure projects, covering the transportation, broadband, energy, and housing sectors, as well as efforts to jump-start advanced manufacturing and other industries key to the U.S.'s competition with China. It also tackles climate change by hastening the shift to new, cleaner energy sources. ([link removed])
*
* — Promoting racial and social equity. The proposal would use federal spending to address longstanding social and economic challenges in a way not seen in half a century. If approved, the spending in the plan would return government investment in research and infrastructure, as a share of the economy, to its highest levels since the 1960s. ([link removed])
*
* — While infrastructure has always had bipartisan appeal, Biden's plan is expected to draw intense Republican opposition, for its size and its reliance on corporate tax increases to fund it. The tax increases would take 15 years to fully offset the cost of the spending programs. —The New York Times ([link removed])


** More good news on the vaccine front
------------------------------------------------------------

Pfizer announced today that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in children as young as 12, a step toward possibly beginning shots in this age group before they head back to school in the fall. Most COVID-19 vaccines currently being rolled out are only authorized for ages 16 and up, as adults face significantly higher risk from the virus. However, vaccinating people of all ages will be critical to stopping the pandemic and to helping schools return to normal after a year of disruption. —Associated Press ([link removed])

MORE: What's behind China and Russia's vaccine diplomacy? —The Atlantic ([link removed])


** Stevenson: Pandemic origins are just the tip of the diplomatic iceberg in China
------------------------------------------------------------

"Amid short-term questions about how to handle the pandemic and whether the Chinese government is being transparent about what happened in the early days of the virus' spread, President Biden and his administration are in the early stages of confronting a much bigger problem: what to do about a world power that is a threat to American dominance, not just in the abstract way it has been for several decades, but immediately." —Peter Stevenson in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Peter Stevenson writes "The 5-Minute Fix" newsletter and covers national and state politics at
The Washington Post.

MORE: U.S. joins 13 countries in raising concerns with data in WHO team's virus report —The Hill ([link removed])


** Gaetz in hot water
------------------------------------------------------------

There may be a good reason why Rep. Matt Gaetz rails about "cancel culture"—he might get canceled himself if a Justice Department investigation of the congressman bears fruit. The DOJ is examining whether the Florida Republican had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel with him, violating federal sex trafficking laws. The probe, which was opened under former Attorney General Bill Barr, is part of a broader investigation into a Gaetz political ally named Joel Greenberg, who was indicted last summer on an array of charges, including sex trafficking of a child. Stay tuned. —The New York Times ([link removed])

MORE: Matt Gaetz eyes early retirement to take job at Newsmax —Axios ([link removed])
[link removed]'s%20amazing!%20Check%20it%20out: [link removed] EARN TOPLINE REWARDS ON TWITTER ([link removed]'s%20amazing!%20Check%20it%20out: [link removed])


** Ashford: Social media isn't the only disinfo factory
------------------------------------------------------------

"Government proposals to reform Section 230 or break technology companies into several smaller companies will not solve the misinformation problem. But increased fact-checking by independent bodies and mandates to present more reliable perspectives will help. Because of the reinforcing influence one medium has on another, reforms must include both the platform and the broadcast industries." —Nicholas Ashford in ([link removed]) The New York Times ([link removed])

Nicholas Ashford is the director of the technology and law program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

MORE: Holt says news media should not provide 'an open platform for misinformation' —DEADLINE ([link removed])


** Focus on voting reform
------------------------------------------------------------

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed into law today the Voting Rights Act of Virginia, a measure that fills some of the gaps in voter protections created when the Supreme Court gutted federal voting rights oversight in 2013. The new law requires state election officials to get prior approval—or preclearance—before making changes to voting rules, a provision that aims to blunt would-be voter suppression efforts. "At a time when voting rights are under attack across our country, Virginia is expanding access to the ballot box, not restricting it," Northam said. —The Hill ([link removed])
* — Kentucky. Bipartisanship reigns supreme in the Bluegrass State. The state's General Assembly overwhelmingly approved legislation on Monday night that will make three days of widespread early voting a regular part of the state's future elections and expand access to the ballot in other ways while also instituting new security measures. Next stop is Gov. Andy Beshear's desk. —The Louisville Courier-Journal ([link removed])
*
* — New Jersey. Yesterday, New Jersey became the latest state to enact a law allowing early in-person voting, with Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signing the legislation alongside Georgia's Stacey Abrams. Murphy cast the legislation as a contrast to "states across our nation (turning) back the clock to Jim Crow-era voter suppression laws"—a reference to new restrictive voting laws being passed or proposed in Georgia and other states. —Associated Press ([link removed])
*
* — North Carolina. A proposal in the North Carolina House seeks to amend the state's constitution to strip redistricting power from politicians and transfer it to an independent commission. Under the Fair Maps Act, the commission, comprised of an equal number of Democrats, Republicans, and independents, would hold public hearings to allow citizen participation in the drawing of district lines. The legislature would have no say in the finalized map. —Indy Week ([link removed])

MORE: Maine eyes constitutional amendment for more ranked-choice voting —Bangor Daily News ([link removed])


** Sargent: Hice's anti-democratic reasons for running for state office
------------------------------------------------------------

"The Georgia law transfers some authority over county election machinery from the secretary of state to an official selected by a majority of state legislators, effectively giving the party in control of the legislature more influence over that machinery. But the secretary of state still retains critical power over election results. ... We don't have to imagine what [Rep. Jody] Hice would do with that power. Trump has already told us: Hice would all but certainly use it to try to overturn results that are not to Georgia Republicans' liking." —Greg Sargent in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Greg Sargent is a columnist at
The Washington Post and the author of "An Uncivil War: Taking Back Our Democracy in an Age of Trumpian Disinformation and Thunderdome Politics."

MORE: David Atkins: By punishing Raffensperger, the GOP moves one step closer to nullifying democracy —Washington Monthly ([link removed])

Is there a "moderate" wing of the GOP? How about a "wing-tip" instead? A mere handful of lucid members committed to democracy doesn't constitute a "wing." On second thought, really, is there a "Republican Party"? Seems mainly to be a loony-bin Trump cult. And it seems to me that "moderation" for the Republican Party merely means "we'll just have to settle with grabbing power by voter disenfranchisement and gerrymandering, since our little coup d'etat failed." —Barry L., Massachusetts
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT TODAY'S STORIES ([link removed])


** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
------------------------------------------------------------
Got feedback about THE TOPLINE? Send it to Melissa Amour, Managing Editor, at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
CARE ABOUT DEMOCRACY? SHARE SOME DEMOCRACY.
If you love THE TOPLINE, share it with your friends and reap the rewards—from a shoutout in an issue of TL, to exclusive swag, to a call with Evan and Mindy.
[link removed]
Your Dashboard has everything you need to easily share THE TOPLINE
and track your progress.
VISIT YOUR DASHBOARD NOW TO GET STARTED ([link removed])

============================================================
** ([link removed])
The Topline is a project of the Stand Up Republic Foundation.

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.

700 Pennsylvania Ave SE · Washington, DC 20003-2493 · USA