heather boushey, welcome back to the "newshour".is a lot of money, 1.9 trillion on top of the trillions that were dished out by the federal government last year. why is so much money necessary? >> well, judy, thank you so much for the question. let's step back and look at the situation that we're in. we continue to have an economy that is in crisis because of this pandemic, and, while we've taken serious steps, the pandemic still rages, and millions of people are out of work as a result. so the package that the president-elect talked about last night focuses first and foremost on containing the virus, doing the things we need to do to get schools to reopen saly, to make sure that the vaccine is distributed equitably and all those things, while making sure that families and businesses and communities all across the country have the support they need to weather this crisis and come out on the other side just as strong if not stronger. so we need to continue to help folks through this crisis, and that is quhie we have this pack -- why

heather boushey is a member of the president's white house council of economic advisors and she joinshington. heather boushey welcome back to the newshour, you were with us about a week and a half ago when president biden was still president-elect biden. first ming i-- thing i want to ask you about is the time table. the president stressing today he wants to get this economic package passed as soon as possiblement but we heard the senate incoming majority leader chuck schumer say march, mid rch. is chuck sheum-- schumer's schedule the president's schedule? >> well, let me say from the economic perspective, making sure that we have clarity, that we have the relief that we need for workers, for families, for communities, for state and local governments all across the country, is the priority to make sure that everyone kws what they can weather the storm of this crisis. now my understanding is that part of the reason that senator schumer is delaying until march is because many of the pieces don't expire because of the package passed in december. but i think it is really imperative that w

heather boushey is a member of the president's white house council of economic advisors and she joinsashington. heather, welcome back. you are with us a week and a half ago when president biden was still president-elect. i want to ask you about the timetable. the president stressing he wants to get this economic package passed as soon as possible, but we heard the senate incoming majority leader say mid-march. is chuck schumer's schedule the president's schedule? heather: from an economic perspective, making sure we have clarity, the relief we need for workers, families, state and local governments across the country is the priority, to make sure they can weather the storm of this crisis. my understanding is, part of the reason senator schumer is delaying from march is, many pieces do not expire, because the package passed in december. it is imperative we act urgently on this package. judy: let me ask you on reporting from colleagues and what we heard from senators with white house officials trying to explain what was inhis package. several senators say they like some of what is here,

. >> heather boushey, thank you for being with us.ng that new minimum wage bill, we'll pick that up with programila jayapal, how she plans to get republicans to sign on. that's later in the show. >>> coming up next, what the cdc is now saying, and you'll want to hear this, about reopening the country's schools. g the country's schools. not just unpredictable relapses. all these other things too. who needs that kind of drama? kesimpta is a once-monthly injection that may help you put this rms drama in its place. it reduced the rate of relapses and active lesions and slowed disability progression. don't take kesimpta if you have hepatitis b, and tell your doctor if you have had it, as it could come back and cause serious liver problems or death. kesimpta can cause serious side effects, including infections, especially when taken before or after other medicines that weaken the immune system. a rare, potentially fatal brain infection called pml may happen with kesimpta. tell your doctor if you had or plan to have vaccines, or if you are o