Once Derided As Graft, Earmarks Just Helped Congress Pass A Bipartisan Budget Deal
Mar 11, 2022
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Hansi Lo Wang, an NPR correspondent specializing in the census, discusses the critical undercount of Black, Latino, and Native American populations in the 2020 Census. He highlights the implications of these disparities on political representation and funding. The conversation also dives into the bipartisan budget deal, including the shift in priorities as COVID relief money is noticeably absent. The role of earmarks in fostering cooperation among lawmakers is explored, reflecting on their historical significance and current political climate.
The $1.5 trillion dollar package also contained billions in aid to Ukraine. One thing that was absent? COVID relief money that the White House was banking on.
And the 2020 Census undercounted many Black, Latino, and Native Americans. White, non-Latino Americans were overcounted. That could help to perpetuate inequality.
This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell, correspondent Hansi Lo Wang, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.