good afternoon, everyone. i'm ayman mohyeldin in new york. on the first day of year two of the global pandemic. the nearly $2 trillion covid relief package is now officially law after president biden signed the bill less than an hour ago. sending a message to americans that help is on the way. >> this historic legislation is about rebuilding the back bone of this country and giving people in this nation, working people, middle class folks, people who built the country, a fighting chance. >> but a grim reality check. since the house pass that had law over 24 hours ago, more than 1,700 americans have died. and the u.s. recorded more than 62,000 new cases.

adding to the more than 532,000 deaths and more than 29 million cases so far. five hours from now, the president will give his first prime time address to the nation from the white house. we have special coverage spanning two continents throughout this entire hour, beginning with nbc news correspondents, kelly o'donnell covering the white house, sarah harmon in munich, germany, and joelene kent in los angeles. i'll begin with you at the white house. the president signed the american rescue plan moments ago. one day earlier than what was scheduled. did the white house realize waiting two days did not reflect the urgency of the crisis that millions of americans need that had money? >> reporter: well, the white house decided to act as quickly as they received the bill from capitol hill. so that's a standard part of how it works. it takes a few days to turn even a just passed piece of legislation into a document for the president's signature. so they hurried it up.

by doing so, it now starts the clock for, for example, the department. treasury to begin sending out checks. those economic impact payments to americans who qualified based on income. and press secretary jen psaki tells us this weekend, the first wave of those checks could be received via direct deposit for americans who have either received a previous direct impact payment that way or have their relationship with the irs for a tax refund through direct deposit. paper checks will take longer. so now it is law and that gets all of the mechanisms of government working toward implementing this. and we will see the president, vice president, the first lady, and the second gentleman, out on the road traveling in the days ahead to talk about specific elements of this legislation and how they will be reflected in people's everyday lives and how they will help different parts of the economy and different parts of the community, from personal financial benefits to

things will help schools, businesses, the vaccination programs, breaking it down into all the different elements of this nearly $2 trillion piece of legislation. the president gets his first big legislative win. and as you pointed out, he'll be addressing the nation. >> and the first stop will be atlantic, georgia. perhaps a thank you to the voters who delivered the senate and made this bill possible for the president of the american people. this morning though, unfortunately, the government reported that 712,000 americans fired first time unemployment claims in the past week. the lowest number since early november. talk to us about that for a moment. how has the united states fared economically compared to other countries? >> well, we want to point out first of all that that 712,000 does not even count the about a half million people who also applied for pandemic unemployment assistance. you have the 1.1 million people here who are still getting new benefits for the first time.

so there's tons of economic painful when you zoom out to the bigger economic picture globally, you can compare the u.s. and europe, for example. you take a look at u.s. gdp in 2020. it contracted by about 3.5%, overall the entire year, compare that to europe which is about double at 6.8%. so the u.s. certainly faring better in terms of gdp and productivity. the same goes for unemployment overall. unemployment across the board in the u.s. as we've been reporting. 6.2%. in the e.u., as of january, 8.1%. but overall, when you look at what the international monetary fund is saying, they expect countries like the and u.s. japan to recover to pre pandemic levels by the end of this year which is of course a long ways out. but then they don't expect the imf does not expect the recovery to be so robust for countries in europe at this time. so as you look at the bigger picture, domestically, as

americans wait to receive their stimulus check, you can also take a look at the fact a lot of people are still very much looking for that money to help them just to get by. we're still at 2.5 times pre pandemic levels when it comes to weekly unemployment filings. so the jobs market may look rosier at this moment given what's going on but there is such a long way to go. >> and one of the aspects in all of this over the past year has been the debate in this country about whether or not lockdowns are effective. talk to us about what went into effect in europe and the united states? what's the view like from overseas? >> i'll give you a quick disclaimer. it is difficult to talk about europe. we've got 27 countries plus the u.k. very different strategies. in general what we can say is that the u.k. lockdown later, but also harder. for example, in the u.k. right

now, you haven't been able to go to a pub or get your hair cut since before christmas. during the first wave in spain, it was reel to leave your house for any reason other than to get food. these are of lockdown measure that's it is really hard for americans to imagine. this did not happen to the same degree in the u.s. where i am here in munich, you have to wear a medical grade mask like this any time you're indoors with other people exempt for at home, obviously. if you want to go shopping at a department store, you have to make an appointment. this is now a year on. these are still the restrictions that people are living with. where europe has really lagged behind is in vaccinations. specifically within the e.u. where i am in germany, only 6.9% of people have received their first dose of vaccine and we're talking about a country that's home to buyon tech that developed the pfizer vaccine. they're really far behind in europe. just today we saw the head of

the german cdc say this is it. we're now in the third wave. and chancellor merkel told people to expect a rough three or four months ahead. >> all right. let's cross over to kirkland, washington, where steve is. that is ground zero of the virus in the united states. is it still the same one year later? >> reporter: monumental shifts in morbidity, case count, in posturing, the overall well being of people here. this place has gone from ground zero of this country's epidemic to an example of how to combat an epidemic. the counties that surround suburban seattle and encompass the city have been some of the lowest case counts, the lowest infection rates during the entire pandemic. the life care chernlt which has been such the focus, especially early on of this virus in the united states, now 95% of residents vaccinated.

90% of the staff vaccinated. they were doing so well that this had turned into a testing site for some time. still there was that early fear, especially and particularly from the first responders who never had to deal with something of this magnitude. didn't have the proper ppe, the training. and we're diving in to save as many people as possible. i spoke to a firefighter who is based here who talked about that fear of going into a place like that center behind me. a hot zone where they had not experienced something like that before. here's what he said. >> i just remember all the feelings would you probably imagine in terms of fear and anxiety, not knowing exactly how this disease was trags mid, how easily it was transmitted, if all the ppe we were wearing, if it was going to protect us. so that is what i really remember the most. just the unknown. >> those fears mostly alleviated

and it is heartening to hear that federal guidelines on visitation for nursing homes have mostly been lifted. so this care center, you'll find grand parents finally able to hug their grandchildren which is a far cry from how it was a year ago. >> all right. thank you all for starting us off this hour. joining me now, a senior scholar at the john hopkins central for health security and an assistant professor in the department of environmental health and engineering at the bloomberg school of public health. thank you for joining us this hour. so as we mark this one-year commemoration, or anniversary of the world health organization, declaring covid-19 a global pandemic, what are you reflecting on? are you anticipating a new normal by this summer? >> well, we've had a very long hard year. i think it is important to step pack and recognize we've lost over 500,000 people in the u.s. alone. many more globally and we are still in the pandemic.

that being said, i think we're headed to a better place and i'm feeling very hopeful about the year ahead. i think with the rollout of the vaccines, we will see less community transmission and we'll be able to incorporate more things are important to us and our everyday lives. so do i feel hopeful looking ahead. >> what is maybe not just one thing but what are any of the things you feel this virus has exposed about us in the united states over the past year? >> there is no question this virus has exploited the existing inequities in our public health system, our communities broadly. i think recognition of the ways that health and access to health is not even has been well recognized for a long time but it has not been central to our understanding of pandemics and i think it will change going forward. much more emphasis on protecting communities most vulnerable, including communities of color, underresourced communities, underserved communities. that will have to be a big focus of our work moving forward. >> you probably saw on

wednesday, the biden guidance for nursing homes which now says it is okay for guests to go inside and visit residents, even if neither has been vaccinated. according to recent data, nursing homes, related deaths, at least, accounted for one third of all deaths in the united states. what do you make of where we stand in our understanding of whether or not it is to be safe for us to go into those facilities to visit loved ones? >> nursing home residents are among the most vulnerable in our population. they are older adults. many with fragile health status and we know those are risk factors for severe illness. that being said, many of them haven't seen loved ones for an entire year so i think there is a balance to be struck here in protecting the life and health of those among us who are most vulnerable while making sure they have the social and emotional supports to really have what they need to live a healthy, productive life. >> you talked about the inequities we've seen in this

country. president biden as you saw just signed the american rescue plan into law. that cruz $350 billion for state and local communities. talk to us about the impact this will have, this additional funding will have in our ability to help heal communities? >> i think it will be huge. there is $7.5 billion for vaccines, $46 billion for testing and tracing, $500 million to create a new center for epidemic forecasting and improve public health data. these are really the interventions we've been looking for to regain control of the pandemic. and i think they're coming at a good time. it has been a few months since the last stimulus states are looking to decide what the next move will be to ensure that we slow transmission and resume some sort of normalcy. so i'm very excited with the american rescue plan and i look forward to it receiving communities. >> you probably saw, we were talking to reporters overseas and getting perspective on how the u.s. has fared compared to other countries. distributing vaccines has back

global effort. 190 governments agreeing to work together on manufacturing and trying to everybody sure equitable distribution around the world. 20 countries, roughly 20 countries, they were involved in the development of the vaccine and the trials of at least the three vaccines currentory being used in the u.s. talk to us a little about that. the importance of this global cooperation to end this pandemic. is there a way this could have happened without global cooperation? >> i think there's no question that the global perspective is absolutely critical when it comes the infectious diseases. we are all a plane ride away from one another. so it is really important that we have plans in place and efforts in place to protect the global community. at issue now is vaccines and making sure that low to middle income countries have affordable access to those vaccines, as long as they remain protected. we have seen how new emerging variants can really change the game so it is important that all countries are able to access the fools they need to maintain

control of the virus. >> report. greatly appreciate your insights. thank you. so for your time. up next, new details vouming new york governor andrew cuomo. his sixth accuser and the albany police department. it's next. e albany police department. it's next. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months after just 2 doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs, or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything ♪ woman: now is the time to ask your dermatologist about skyrizi. woman: now is the time to ask your visible is wireless that doesn't play games. it's powered by verizon for as little as $25 a month. but it gets crazier. bring a friend every month and get every month for $5. boom! 12 months of $5 wireless.

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we have breaking news regarding new york governor

andrew cuomo. joining me from new york, kathy park with more on this. what can you tell us? >> reporter: hey, ayman. good afternoon to you. "the new york times" is reporting that the albany police department has received a report from a state official talking about the incident that allegedly happened at the governor's executive mansion late last year involving the governor and an unidentified woman. as you know, just the past couple of days, this woman has come forward to the times unit of albany laning with there was an incident between her and the governor, saying that he allegedly groped her. right now, they have not received a formal complaint from this unidentified woman. and the department is saying that they have reached out to her representative. we're also hearing from the governor's acting counsel, beth garvey, who said once again, that this woman has not filed a

formal complaint and therefore, it is procedural for the state to notify the authorities. that's what happened here. and as you know, this is just one of many headlines in the past couple of days involving the governor. right now, six women have come forward accusing him of inappropriate behavior. he has denied doing anything wrong. and he has apologized if he made anyone feel uncomfortable. he said he never touched anyone inappropriately. right now the a.g.'s office is spearheading the investigation. there are two attorneys, outside attorneys. one of them, a former acting u.s. attorney who is now part of team. they are now looking into these growing allegations. eventually they will have to put this into a report and it will be made public once that information is gathered. it could take some time.

>> let me ask but the governor's impeachment or perhaps resignation. you mentioned he's denied the allegations. the cheryl of the democratic party, i want to read a part of this statement for you. he said with the preponderance of these allegations, now is the time for the legislator to commence its own review of these matters as part of its constitutional responsibilities. do you know if there's any effort to get that underway for the new york legislature to begin its own investigation into these matters? >> there is growing pressure for the governor to step down and he's been defiant saying he's not going anywhere. we have nearly 60 democratic state lawmakers asking for his resignation. the assembly speaker made a statement saying he plans on holding a meeting with these lawmakers to figure out the next steps. just kind of with these

potential proceedings. meanwhile, earlier in the week we had gop state lawmakers introduce an impeachment resolution so really, it looks like the ball is starting to get rolling. but this is still kind of in the preliminary stages. and as i mentioned, the a.g.'s office is looking at the allegations so we need to get through that as well. >> all right, kathy, thank you. and one day after passing the nearly $2 trillion relief package, the house turned its attention to another pressing issue facing this country. gun safety reform. today the house passed fwoils expand background checks and close a loophole allowing some gun sales to go through before the check is completed. both bills received some republican support. the house voted the expand background checks, but the bill went nowhere in the republican controlled senate. chuck schumer said this time will be different. >> the legislative graveyard is over. hr-8 will be on the floor of the senate and we will see where

everybody stands. no more hopes and prayers, thoughts and prayers. >> joining us now, robin kelly, a member of the house gun violence prevention task force and also the newly elected chair woman of the democratic party. thank you for your time. given the even split in the senate, just how fine of a needle it is to try to thread. do you share senator schumer's confidence that these bills will move forward? >> do i share his confidence. we sent it over in a bipartisan way and i think there are republicans in the senate that will vote for this bill also. >> so in addition to these bills, i know that you and congressman joe neguse are working on a bill to establish a gun violence prevention czar. what exactly would this person do? have you talked with your republican colleagues about this? do you know if the white house is on board with this? >> really, a small group of us

have talked about this. and we think that gun violence is such a big public health crisis that it needs to have a higher priority. not that it is not important to the administration. we know it is. we think there needs to be someone in the office, even if it is not a czar, but someone higher up in the administration that is overseeing this issue. >> and what exactly would that role do? do you know? >> well, hopefully, pass, help pass legislation, help with programming, help with resources. it's not just, you know, the background check or different things like that. there's more legislation. like i would like to see purchases and trafficking but we have to help communities disaffected that i gun violence. we have to invest in mental health access. two-thirds of gun violence deaths are suicides so there is a lot more that we could be

doing. and this just elevates the importance of the issue. >> let me ask about covid relief. earlier today pelosi criticized republicans for be voting for the covid relief package. here's some of what she had to say. >> unfortunately, republicans, as i say, vote no and take the dough. you see already, some of them claiming, oh, this is a good thing or that's a good thing but they couldn't give it a vote. >> what do you think that republicans in your state will do now and what will this package do or the your district? >> oh, my mayors and my governor and my county presidents, i have three, they are very happy that resources are coming back to illinois. for businesses and individual family members, this was needed. and this bill was supported by, i believe, over 70% of the

public. you hear republican mayors, republican governors saying the money is needed. so individuals will have money, businesses will have money, there will be more money for testing, vaccines, contact tracing, all very, very important in my district and all over the united states. >> congresswoman, as you know, we've been marking the one year since the world health organization declared the coronavirus as a global pandemic. reflect on that year. how hard has this been for you and the people that serve in your district? >> i don't want to get emotional. i didn't expect that question. i've lost two family members to covid. yeah. and one actually just recently in january. and my uncle last may or june. it's been very hard on my district, beside the loss of loved ones, or loved ones getting sick. businesses have shut down. people have lost their jobs.

so it's had a devastating impact. >> i'm very sorry to hear that about your family and all those affected by this pandemic. the nearly 500,000 americans who have lost loved ones. thank you so much. switching gears for a moment, it is 2021. the 2020 olympics are finally moving forward with a major announcement. but first, as we mark one year since covid changed all of our lives, we're asking people to share their pictures, the ones they took before the pandemic began. including this photo of the man who has led the nation during this health crisis, dr. anthony fauci, who is celebrating his 79th birthday christmas of 2019. 79th birthday christmas of 2019. gives us a dual action effect that really takes care of both our teeth sensitivity as well as our gum issues. there's no question it's something that i would recommend.

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a major development getting back to normal as today international olympic committee in china are teaming up to offer vaccines to athletes and teams for the upcoming tokyo and beijing olympic games. also today the european medicines agency approved johnson & johnson's single dose vaccine. a crucial step in combatting the pandemic for the european union. joining me now, chief global correspondent bill neely. great to have you with us. we've seen a worldwide struggle to quickly roll out the coronavirus vaccine. how many of a difference does the ioc and china's announcement

today making this event one of the most highly ant participated back on track? >> reporter: well, for many countries, it could make a huge difference. all cynicism aside, it is a generous offer. you might say that it is a very clever piece of vaccine diplomacy, or less generously, you might say it's a great pr stunt. here's the reality. we are experiencing a massively uneven vaccine rollout across the world. i've been vaccinated. i'm of a certain age. i'm in a rich country. the u.k., u.s., israel, things are going okay. lots of vaccinations. in many poor countries, there's no vaccine rollout whatsoever. for example, africa. only one of the top 40 countries in the world for vaccine rollout is in africa. that's morocco. in those countries, the chinese

announcement today is being welcomed. and it will make a difference. team usa highly unlikely to take advantage of this. the u.s. olympic committee has already said that its athletes will be vaccinated probably before the trials. not just before the olympics. giving, of course, u.s. athletes a massive advantage. here's the point. is all of this fair? and i suppose that's what the chinese and the ioc are trying to do. you have a u.s. athlete who is fully vaccinated able to train, has a coach, has physio. it is four months to the olympics. they know they will have a smooth ride to the olympics and they will be competing let's say, against an african athlete. and don't forget, african athletes track and field are fantastic but maybe they haven't been vaccinated. maybe they've been anxious. maybe he this haven't been able to travel and train. for example, this week, the

entire british team that came back from the european indoor track championships are in ten days of isolation because one of their number tested positive. now, that's ten days lost, no training, their olympic preparation is problematic. so that's where the chinese offer is interesting. and of course, the whole issue is any of this fair, ayman? it is a race to vaccinate the world. it is also a race before the olympic races to see who can be vaccinated and who can train best. >> a very valid question indeed about fairness. thank you. up next, one year after the pandemic put the nation on lockdown, we are taking a look at some of the hardest hit communities down south. but first, new developments in the murder trial of derek chauvin where jury selection is still underway. so far, six jurors have been seated. and earlier, the judge reinstated a third degree murder

charge against the minneapolis police officer who also faces charges of second degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter following the death of george floyd last may. a video that shocked the nation shows chauvin kneeling on floyd's neck for nearlyu' watch. s you're watching msnbc. substitut. i honestly feel that that's my calling-- to give back to younger people. i think most adults will start realizing that they don't recall things as quickly as they used to or they don't remember things as vividly as they once did. i've been taking prevagen for about three years now. people say to me periodically, "man, you've got a memory like an elephant." it's really, really helped me tremendously. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. this is the epson ecotank color printer. no more buying cartridges. big ink tanks. lots of ink. print about this many pages.

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noticeably absent though were former president trump and first lady melania trump who were also vaccinated in private, we should note. the ad council urges americans to follow science and get their vaccine. and today dr. anthony fauci reflected on the last year saying he never would have thought the death toll would be so high. here's what he had to say about why it got so severe. >> wet such divisiveness in our country that even simple sense common health measures took on a political connotation. wasn't a pure public health approach. >> as we enter a second year of the pandemic, we're looking at communities hardest hit by the virus. in rural tennessee, the local health system's positivity rate it was 25% this winter. now the region is leading vaccinations for this state. louisiana had the fastest case rate in the year in the wake of mardi gras last year. and for many, the future of the

pandemic remains unclear. from the appalachian region, joining me, and live from new orleans. what is behind the turn-around? how are the front line nurses you've been following responding to this turn-around? how do they explain it? >> we've been reporting on this region for months. the last time we are here at johnson city medical center in december, it was during one of the darkest times for this community. we saw first hand what happened behind the hospital doors when we spent time in the icus with nurses. when they were seeing patients die just about every single shift of we also saw the mobile morgue trail per was parked here when the hospital morgue ran out of space. there were conspiracy theories that the trailer was not real. that covid was a hoax. well, since then, things have

shifted significantly both inside the hospital and in this community. that misinformation was one of the biggest pieces of heart break for these nurses. now hospitalizations are down dramatically. there's not a single patient on a ventilator in this hospital which is a far cry from what we saw last time we are here. and there's been a shift in mind set as well. i want to you hear from allison johnson, a nurse of 17 years. she's also a member of this community. when we talked in december, she said she would go to the grocery store, see her neighbors without masks and worry that she would see them in her icu. now she says things look a little different. listen. >> people that i knew personally that didn't think it was that big of a deal who either came to be a patient or had a family member that did. i think it changed their perspective. when it affects you personally, for some people, that's when it has the impact.

>> is there a sense of relief now? >> every time we closed a unit, there was a collective sigh amongst all of us. when we first started getting vaccinations. >> reporter: it's also been the story of these nurses talking about their experience in the media and in the communities. it has had a significant impact here. alongside the treatments and the system the hospital has to help patients heal at home rather than here in the hospital. as much as you heard allison talk about the relief, she also talked about the challenge of now coping with this new scenario where things are better but they're still dealing with what they saw. she likened it to being in a war zone where you don't just go back to life as usual afterwards. we met up with her family at her farm where she said her chinls have helped her get some therapy along with her family, of

course. she said she's working on healing after she has now healed so many others. >> let's talk about the residents in new orleans, particularly for black residents. the numbers are quite staggering. what are you hearing from people one year into this? >> let's be clear. this was once the epicenter of the coronavirus here in the united states. just a year ago, what is striking, every single person i have talked to while reporting here on the ground has made comparisons between the impact of covid and the impact of hurricane katrina. by most accounts, by the numbers, covid has been far worse. eight time more people were killed in the state of louisiana by covid than hurricane katrina. the same goes for those unemployment numbers. it has been far worse since covid. the reality is that these are both catastrophes that they said have preyed upon this city and the state's most vulnerable. this is a city that is 60% black and they represent about 70 plus percentage points when it comes

to the overrecommendation in covid deaths. the question somehow do they move forward? of course we know the vaccine is a huge step in that. we're at this massive vaccination site where 5,000 people have been vaccinated since it was open last week. about 1,000 have been vaccinated today. when we talked to experts, they say sure, there is absolutely a discrepancy when it comes to getting african-americans vaccinated. only 25% of those who have been vaccinated in the state of louisiana are brac. and ayman, the reality is that comes down to two things. not only access but also trust. access when it comes to reaching those minority communities. when i asked the decent of the school of public health why he feels like there is such a reticence to take the vaccine, he said this is not about a lack of trust in the vaccine. this is about a lack of trust in government that contemporarily speaking, african-americans have had experience that's are not positive with government officials on a daily basis. when we're talking about law enforcement. talking about police officers.

talking about medical professionals who perhaps don't pay attention to their concerns and their queries with as much attention. and they say those experience on a day to day basis that has nothing to do with the vaccine has created a level of mistrust and distrust when it comes to the government. that's part of what we're seeing at play here with the discrepancies. >> all right, a very important spotlight on these two communities. thank you. next, steve kornacki joins me at the big board to look at what the polls say halfway through president biden's first 100 days. plus, barbara lee of california joins me to discuss the president's first massive legislative achievement. t massi legislative achievement. re... far from glamorous. that means expensing nothing but pizza. your expenses look good, and your books are set for the month! ...going up against this guy... and pitching your idea 100 times. no, no, no! no. i like it. -he likes it! ...and you definitely love that.

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and, they absorb 40% faster. the gush happens fast. that's why always absorbs faster. in about four hours, president biden will address the nation hours after signing the nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package into law. it will come exactly one year after then president trump addressed the nation after the world health organization's declaration of a global pandemic. joining us now, steve kornacki at the big board. what is biden's approval rating looking like 50 days into office? >> yeah. interesting. a big moment for him. a big political fight. he gets his covid relief package. this is what the president makes of the public right now. you're looking at the average approval rating. you take all the different polls out there. average them together. the real clear average has biden as 53.7% approval rating. basically you can call that a 54% approval rating.

honestly, this has been about where he's been for this first part of his presidency. the high water mark if you're tracking these things, day by day. you can see it a week in. he was at 55.8. basically in this same range. mid55.8. mid 50s is where biden has been even through the big legislative fight. how does that stack up with his recent predecessors, how does that compare to modern predecessors? >> at this same point, you can see here's the list. at the top, reagan was at 61%. biden is actually down a bit. i think it's interesting. he's a tick below where clinton and george w. bush, and george h.w. bush, but split close, mid to high 50s is the norm. trump is the outlier here, the only one who didn't get over 50%

in the honeymoon face, didn't get above 50% at any point. so biden is more in that range we have come to expect from presidents. you know, a couple points off clinton and bush. the interesting thing, 54% for biden on his job approval, it's a low lower than the public support for that covid relief bill. 70% on that one, so the support for the big legislative package he just got through, he's championing, not all of that is rubbing off on biden. that's politics in the era of polarization. ultimately as they move to other bills, things like infrastructure, perhaps even something like the background checks that passed the house today, whether or not that would he have a negative impact or positive impact on him. >> a lot of times when you poll

the individual issues, and this is a great example of it. i know democrats, you see nancy pelosi telling democrats, spread the word about this, draw attention to this, we think it's a political winner. you can see why in the polls here, but again it doesn't always translate into a democrat versus a republican. you put a candidate's name in front of people, the thing that still drives that i think a lot is just the red/blue, democrat/republican team polarization. >> steve kornacki at the being board, good to see you, my friend. joining me now is barbara lee, she's a member of the appropriations and budget committees, as well as the cochair offal steering and policy committee for house democratic leadership. congresswoman, thank you so much for being here. president biden signed the bill not to long ago.

what are your top concerned about the roll-out and distribution of a relief package that's this large. >> thank you for having me and let me say how excited i am. this is a transformational bill, now an initiative to be rolled out. it's going to save lives and livelihoods. as we roll it out, of course, there will be some bureaucracy, but i believe the biden/harris administration knows this is really an emergency. the president has really executed this legislation in a way that showed me and at least all democrats that he recognizes people need help. they're living on the edge. i'm sure all the red tape will be cut through, and expedited because people you can't survive through this much longer. so i'm just really honored to

have been part of this whole process, because this is a transformative moment. >> one of the criticism has been by progressive democrats, has been that the $15 minimum wage did not end up in the final draft and certainly not in the law, after a decision by the senate parliamentarian. are there plans to take this up again? as you mentioned, million of americans still continue to suffer without that livable minimum wage. >> absolutely. we're going to do it as quickly as possible. first of all $7.25 is outrageous. those are poverty wages. people taking care of their children, their families are working below the poverty line and need access to food stamps and section 8 housing and social safety net benefits. that should not be. i have worked, like members of the progressive caucus and all of us for the last, i don't know

since 2014 or '15 in the fight for '15 to say we must at least raise the minimum wage to $15. i was extremely disappointed it was not included in this bill, because it will lift people out of poverty. so many people of color live below the poverty line now, so we're going to make sure we get some strategy together where we can move forward hopefully, the filibuster will be addressed so we can get this through the senate and to the president. >> let me ask you as well about the $1400. do you think that is enough? also with this final bill that was signed into law, you had about 8 million americans phased out because of how much they were making. they were eligible based on previous settings now it's 8 million americans less. is that enough? >> well, of course i have always been one to believe we needed a minimum of $2,000 a monday

guaranteed under the end of this pandemic. people have lost their businesses, their jobs, through no fault of their own. their government needs to step up for them. while i'm pleased and people are excited the $1400 will be in their pockets very soon, we need to do more, but i have to just say, going forward we have to make sure that -- in terms of our reforming, in terms of transforming this government and in terms of one that provides for economic security, we have to figure out ways to look at bottom lines in terms of guaranteed annual incomes so that people don't, in the midst of emergencies have to struggle and go into food lines and have to beg just to survive. >> yeah, we have spent almost $5 trillion in this past year to make sure we can get americans by. congresswoman, thank you are for your time. i greatly appreciate it. that's wraps up this hour for me. i'll see you here tomorrow.

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hi there, everyone. it's 4:00 in new york, one year to the date from the declaration of covid-19 as a global pandemic. president biden will address the nation in his first primetime address as president, in an effort to make americans feel good again, fueled by up at the stimulus, as well as economic relief. today president biden signed into law his $1.9 relief bill. and a $300 boost in jobless benefits if they need them. the swift passage of his lark mark package will give him a head of steam heading into