7. Apparently $1.9 trillion just wasn’t enough
- White House press secretary Jen Psaki suggested that President Joe Biden is looking to pass another coronavirus stimulus package soon, saying that this week he’ll introduce the second part of his “recovery” plan, “which will include an investment in infrastructure.”
- Psaki also said that Biden will share more details throughout the month and is expected to include areas of “health care, child care.” She added, “It’s a crisis right now, the number of women who have left the workplace.” But she did confirm that the full details aren’t entirely worked out.
6. Tuberville: Alabama is paying for relief for larger cities
- U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) recently criticized the coronavirus relief package that totaled $1.9 trillion, saying this legislation is basically “theft.”
- Tuberville went on to say that “Alabama taxpayers are paying off the bills for San Francisco, Chicago and New York.” He warned with the new $3 trillion infrastructure bill, “We better be accountable. But get ready. Here come the taxes.”
5. Border facilities operating in inhumane conditions
- U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) recently visited the southern border and is now calling for President Joe Biden to allow media access to the facilities. Cruz said in a letter to Biden, “[T]he American people are unable to see it because you remain intent on keeping the media from shining a light on your administration’s failures.”
- Cruz called the situation at these border facilities are “inhumane” and “wrong.” He also said that there were as many as 4,200 migrants housed in a facility meant for only 250.
4. Brooks doesn’t want people to give up after 2020
- U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) was the keynote speaker for the “Stand Up, Alabama!” event in South Alabama over the weekend where he raised concerns over the agenda and strategy of Democrats.
- Brooks said, “One of the things that the opposition wants to do is depress us.” He added, “We can either fight and beat them at the ballot box or surrender. I want us to fight. Don’t get depressed. Get angry. Do what is necessary to win these elections in the state of Alabama in other states across the union.”
3. Madison County Commission chairman is the first to announce run for AL-05
- Madison County Commission Chair Dale Strong is apparently ready to announce that he will be running for Congress in 2022. Strong is the first candidate to emerge in a race for the U.S. House seat being vacated by U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville), who has announced he is running for U.S. Senate.
- Strong told aldotcom that he is ready to “represent the voice of the people here in north Alabama” and he believes that “we can carry on the fight that Donald Trump started and that’s what I’m wanting to do.” The media outlet tried to turn that into an anti-Mo Brooks and anti-Donald Trump comment somehow.
2. Unemployment continues to fall
- The Alabama Department of Labor has reported that for the month of February, the unemployment rate fell to 4.0%. This is down from 4.3% in January.
- Before the coronavirus pandemic, the unemployment rate in February 2020 was at 2.6%. In February 2021, there were 91,065 unemployed people in the state.
1. Vaccine eligibility expanding before May 1
- State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said at his weekly coronavirus briefing that all adults in Alabama will be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine “well before May 1.”
- Alabama has already administered around one million vaccines; just over half of those who have received the vaccine are fully vaccinated. Harris also advised that the state has started receiving about 110,000 doses of the vaccine per week.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.