The 5,593-page bill poised to pass the U.S. Congress tonight provides plenty of coronavirus aid.
It also ensures that you will not go to prison for transporting water chestnut plants across state lines.
After months of inaction, Congress has rolled coronavirus aid, federal government funding and a grab bag of miscellaneous provisions into one massive year-end piece of legislation – called a “Christmas tree” in Washington parlance.
The bill was so unwieldy that it caused congressional computers to malfunction, delaying publication for several hours on Monday, according to Republican Senator John Thune.
Along with $900 billion in coronavirus aid – the second-largest stimulus package in U.S. history – the bill also funds the government through September 2021, at a cost of $1.4 trillion.
It also extends a hodgepodge of tax breaks for NASCAR auto-racing tracks, craft distillers and other interests that would have otherwise expired at the end of the year.
The package also decriminalizes unauthorized uses of Smokey Bear, gives tax breaks to racehorse owners and bans the U.S. Postal Service from handling e-cigarettes.
A years-long effort in both cases, the bill allows for the creation of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and the National Museum of the American Latino.
The National Museum of the American Latino could go into the renovated Arts and Industries Building or will be constructed on one of three other National Mall sites.
Two of the sites are also being considered for the location of the American Women’s History Museum, including to the bill’s language.
Over the years, celebrities like Meryl Streep have pushed for the creation of a women’s history museum, while Emilio Estefan and Eva Longoria have fought for there to be a Latino museum.
Stand-alone legislation for both museums was blocked earlier this month by Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, who said they would ‘further divide an already divided nation within an array of separate but equal museums for hyphenated identity groups.’
The entertainment industry was gifted a provision that would make the illegal streaming of movies and musical works a felony – and could carry a maximum 10-year jail stay.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive New York Democrat, came out against the provision in a strongly worded Monday evening tweet.
‘This is why Congress needs time to actually read this package before voting on it. Members of Congress have not read this bill. It’s over 5000 pages, arrived at 2pm today, and we are told to expect a vote on it in 2 hours,’ Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, sharing The Hollywood Reporter’s story about the bill including language that would make illegal streaming a felony.
‘This isn’t governance. It’s hostage-taking,’ Ocasio-Cortez said.
This is why Congress needs time to actually read this package before voting on it.
Members of Congress have not read this bill. It’s over 5000 pages, arrived at 2pm today, and we are told to expect a vote on it in 2 hours.
This isn’t governance. It’s hostage-taking. https://t.co/JpBbEHHkVG
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 21, 2020
The language on the Dalai Lama is a clear warning shot to China, the country the Trump administration has blamed for the coronavirus pandemic.
The bill also directs the secretary of State to set up a U.S. consulate in Tibet.
‘Interference by the Government of the People’s Republic of China or any other government in the process of recognizing a successor or reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama and any future Dalai Lamas would represent a clear abuse of the right to religious freedom of Tibetan Buddhists and the Tibetan people,’ the bill says.
The legislation gives the U.S. government the green light to impose sanctions on Chinese officials who interfere with the process.
The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, lives in exile in India after escaping Tibet in 1959 during an uprising, as the Chinese have had control over Tibet since 1951. Since then, China has tried to meddle in the process of choosing the next Dalai Lama.
Additionally, the bill makes it no longer a crime to use imagery of Smokey Bear or Woodsy Owl, another icon of the U.S. Forest Service.
It continues to allow a more favorable tax policy to owners of race horses.
Finally, the legislation bans the U.S. Postal Service from handling packages that contain e-cigarettes.