On Monday, congressional leaders finally unveiled the text of the coronavirus stimulus package.
The bill is 5,593 pages, meaning it is basically impossible for any member of Congress to read the legislation prior to voting on it this evening.
“Let’s say the vote is at 8 pm in the House, lawmakers could technically read the Covid relief/omnibus bill at a rough rate of about 4 seconds per page,” HuffPost correspondent Tara Golshan reported. “Basically read Infinite Jest five times over and then some in six hours.”
Here are seven shocking facts about the legislation that have been discovered so far.
Five pages on reincarnation
Beginning on page 5099 of the bill PDF file, the bill spends five pages laying out the process for determining who will be recognized as the next reincarnation of the Dalia Lama.
The language on reincarnation was spotted by Lisa Desjardins of PBS news.
Filing for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) will be more difficult.
Unemployed workers seeking PUA will have to provide documentation within 21 days.
David Dayen, the executive editor of The Prospect, says the new rule is “an effective tax on people’s time.
Owners of race horses got a tax break
While Americans will only get up-to $600 in direct financial aid in the bill, racehorse owners will receive a tax break.
The tax break was noticed by Lee Fang of The Intercept.
Two new museums will be established
One of the little-notices aspects of the bill is that it will authorize two new museums.
CNN reporter Lauren Fox noticed the bill will establish a new American Women’s History Museum and National Museum of the American Latino.
The new eviction moratorium only lasts for five weeks
Despite the looming eviction crisis, the new bill only extends protections until the end of January.
The length of the eviction moratorium was noted by Elizabeth Landers of Vice News.
Stimulus bill decriminalizes unauthorized use of Smokey the Bear
Department of Agriculture propaganda icon Smokey the Bear was also included in the legislation addressing the coronavirus economic crisis.
The legislative language was reported by Erik Wasson of Bloomberg news.
Stimulus includes “three martini” lunch deductions for corporations
While Americans wait in bread lines, big corporations got the “three martini” tax cut that was pushed by Donald Trump, as reported by Jeff Stein of The Washington Post.