{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/122220-1", "House Democrats Achieve Historic Progress For The People in Emergency COVID Relief and Omnibus Package", "2020-12-22", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "CA", "Nancy Pelosi", "P000197", "www.speaker.gov", null, null, "legacy", "From bringing down the cost of health care to addressing economic and racial inequality and building our infrastructure in a green way, House Democrats fought to ensure this year's omnibus spending package advanced the interests of America's workers, families and small businesses.\nRecent coverage of and reactions to the spending bill highlight the transformative impact of many of these investments:\nAffordable Health Care\nNPR: Congress Acts To Spare Consumers From Costly Surprise Medical Bills\nThe bottom line: Patients [] will now be protected against unexpected bills from out-of-network providers.\"\nPolitico: A shining moment': Congress agrees to restore Medicaid for Pacific Islanders\n\"'I'm overwhelmed by this,' said Maitha Jolet, a 62-year-old Marshallese man living in Dubuque, Iowa, who's worked to help uninsured Marshallese community members deal with their high health care bills. We've been waiting for this for 25 years. It's something I never thought would happen.'\"\nJuliet Choi, CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum: \n[The agreement is] a shining moment where Congress' commitment to do the right thing will now finally allow thousands of COFA families gain access to Medicaid again.\"\n\nProviding Critical, Emergency Relief to the American People\nCNBC: Lawmakers allocate $13 billion to food assistance programs in an effort to alleviate hunger crisis\nSunday's funding deal includes a 15% increase to the maximum SNAP benefits for six months through June 30, 2021, a move that many advocates were calling for. The increase amounts to a boost of about $25 per person each month.\nWashington Post: Congress extends pandemic aid for the jobless and renters. Here's what you need to know.\nAs part of the $900 billion stimulus bill, [] the national eviction moratorium will be extended through January. The deal also offers tenants $25 billion in rental assistance.\n\nAddressing the Climate Crisis\nAssociated Press: Congress takes aim at climate change in massive relief bill \nThe energy and climate provisions, supported by lawmakers from both parties, were hailed as the most significant climate change law in at least a decade.\nWashington Post: Stimulus deal includes raft of provisions to fight climate change\nThe most substantial federal investment in green technology in a decade includes billions for solar, wind, battery storage and carbon capture.\nLeague of Conservation Voters: \nThis year-end package takes critical steps forward in tackling climate change.\nGrant Carlisle, Senior Policy Adviser at Natural Resources Defense Council: \nThis is perhaps the most significant climate legislation Congress has ever passed.\n\nSupporting Global Public Health Efforts\nGlobal Citizen: US COVID-19 Relief Package Adds $4 Billion to Help Get Vaccines to the World's Poorest\nBy investing $4 billion in Gavi, a global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization in the world's poorest countries, the US congressional leaders are acknowledging that Americans cannot truly be safe from the virus until the whole world is safe.\nTom Hart, North America Executive Director at The ONE Campaign: \nThis funding is a vital and significant commitment to help get vaccines to lower-income countries around the world and will help shorten the lifespan of this pandemic.\n\nAdvancing Equity & Combatting Systemic Racism \nEducation Week: Education Dept. Gets $73.5 Billion in Funding Deal That Ends Ban on Federal Aid for Busing\n[T]he bill funding the U.S. Department of Education ends the longstanding prohibition on using federal aid on transportation initiatives to desegregate schools.\nNew York Times: Financial Aid Is Restored for Prisoners in the Education Plan That's Tucked Into the Stimulus Bill\nThe restoration of Pell grants for incarcerated students is something of a watershed moment for the criminal justice overhaul movement as it unwinds decades of punitive practices in favor of finding avenues to reintegrate incarcerated people into society.\nCNN: Congress approves Smithsonian museums for Latinos and women's history\n[It] also greenlights the establishment of two long-awaited Smithsonian museums in the nation's capital: one focused on American Latinos and another dedicated to American women's history.\nDenise Forte, Senior Vice President at The Education Trust:\nNotably, the package does include important initiatives that will reduce food insecurity, help to stabilize the child care system, and increase access to higher education.\n\nInvesting in America's Housing & Infrastructure\nRoll Call: Coronavirus relief package includes broadband money for low-income, jobless\nAdvocates called the provision a historic achievement that could help tens of millions of Americans bridge what has become known as the digital divide.'\nNational Low Income Housing Coalition: Advocates Secure Increased Funding for Housing and Community Development in Final FY21 Spending Bill\nWith this spending bill, Congress clearly rejected the administration's calls to drastically cut housing benefits that help millions of low-income seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, veterans, and other individuals afford their homes.\nTom Smith, Executive Director of the American Society of Civil Engineers: \n[T]his bill prioritizes investment in our nation's water resources systems  dams, levees, inland waterways, and ports  all of which are critical for keeping the economy moving and ensuring public health and safety, as well as preserving and enhancing our environmental resources.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/122220-1"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8702098857611418, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}