On The Money: Bipartisan group unveils two-part $908B COVID package | The push for stimulus checks | Progressives frustrated with representation in Biden Cabinet

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THE BIG DEAL—Bipartisan group unveils two-part $908 billion coronavirus package: A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday unveiled its $908 billion coronavirus relief package as Congress faces a time crunch to pass more aid.  

The proposal is split into two parts: 

• One $748 billion piece includes another round of Paycheck Protection Program assistance for small businesses, support for unemployment benefits, and more money for schools, vaccine distribution and other widely agreed-upon items. 
• The second $160 billion piece ties together the two most controversial elements of the coronavirus negotiations: more money for state and local governments and protections for businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits. 

The Hill’s Jordain Carney has the details here.

The strategy: 

• Splitting off the two issues could make it easier to convince congressional leaders to take up a smaller coronavirus deal and either pass it or add it to a must-pass government funding deal. 
• Appropriators are on the cusp of agreeing to a mammoth omnibus bill, which is expected to be the vehicle for any year-end coronavirus relief.
• But whether congressional leadership will take up the bipartisan bill remains unclear. 

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an adviser to McConnell, called the bipartisan bills “good stuff” but said any coronavirus relief was likely going to need to be agreed upon by leadership. 

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that he would review their bills and that Democrats are “100 percent committed” to getting more relief signed into law. 

The push for stimulus checks: The group is also facing pushback from both sides of the aisle because the proposal doesn’t include another round of direct payments. 

Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are demanding a vote on their proposal to provide a second $1,200 check and have signaled that they view either a government funding bill or a separate coronavirus deal as leverage. 

The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda has more on their fight here.

Read more: Window quickly closing for big coronavirus deal

LEADING THE DAY

Stimulus checks should take back seat to jobless aid, economists say: A bipartisan push to include stimulus checks in the next COVID-19 relief package is raising concerns among economists that other forms of relief considered more effective may be left out.

• Direct payments in the form of $600 or $1,200 checks are undoubtedly popular with most Americans, economists say, but targeted funds for unemployed workers would do more for the economy since those households are less likely to put the money into savings.
• While Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has repeatedly argued that “more is better than less” when it comes to the kind of fiscal stimulus only Congress can approve, proposals like the one put forth by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin this past week that would have provided a one-time $600 payment, but at the expense of weekly expanded unemployment benefits.

The Hill’s Niv Elis tells us why here.

Progressives frustrated with representation as Biden Cabinet takes shape: Some progressives are getting increasingly frustrated with the how President-elect Joe Biden’s potential Cabinet is shaping up, venting that the incoming administration does not properly reflect the role progressives played helping Biden get to the White House.

• Liberal groups and lawmakers bristled at Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) getting passed over for Agriculture secretary in favor of Tom Vilsack, who held the role in the Obama administration. 
• And there is growing concern the Biden team will pass over Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), a progressive favorite, for Interior secretary.

While Biden’s choices so far have largely succeeded in not upsetting the Democratic base, there is bubbling skepticism among progressive groups that Biden will commit to including picks for top Cabinet positions that will represent their views.

“I think the Biden people have been a little bit less concerned about satisfying progressives. I think they’re a little more concerned about not alienating progressives,” said one Democratic strategist close to the transition. The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Alex Gangitano explain here.

GOOD TO KNOW

• The U.S. began vaccinating people against COVID-19 on Monday, a sign of hope that the pandemic, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people in America and sickened millions more, will soon come to an end.
• Reddit said Sunday it is buying the video sharing app Dubsmash, a competitor to the widely popular app TikTok. 
• Hackers linked to a foreign government breached systems belonging to the U.S. Treasury Department and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within the Commerce Department, multiple news outlets reported Sunday.