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Politics Roundup: Afghanistan Update; Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill; Redistricting; Review Of Biden Administration; North Carolina Budget Battle

DonkeyHotey
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Flickr/Creative Commons

Monday, Aug. 16, 2021

Politics affects our everyday lives. The Senate voted 69-30 on Aug. 10 to approve a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and is considered a historic piece of legislation that could reshape
American lives for decades.

After 20 years, Americans are left Afghanistan. Just days after America's departure of the country the Taliban sweep into the capital after the government collapsed.

The measure fulfills a call from President Biden for the two parties to work together to deliver one of his top priorities, but it could face an uncertain fate in the House of Representatives as progressive Democrats press for even greater spending.

North Carolina House Republicans are now rolling out their own two-year spending plan. They say they would put more money towards infrastructure projects and pay teachers and state employees more than what the Senate voted for back in June.

Every state can start to redraw its political map after the U.S. Census Bureau released local population data. But sometimes, when boundaries are placed to favor a particular political party or group, it’s called gerrymandering, and that could change a voting district to create a result that could help or hurt a political group.

We will talk about these topics and more with a round table with local political scientists and take a deeper dive into how this could affect North Carolina and what to expect.

Guests:
Christopher Cooper, department head of Political Science and Public Affairs atWestern Carolina University

Whitney Manzo, associate professor of political science at Meredith College

Susan Roberts, professor of political science atDavidson College

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Dante Miller is a community engagement producer for WFAE and a Report for America (RFA) Corps members. Dante first joined WFAE in 2020 through RFA to work as part of a unique partnership with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and Digital Public Library of America. Her work in that project allowed her to use radio, online stories, Wikipedia entries and events to meet the community's news and information needs.