House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that House Democrats would vote Monday on a standalone bill that would provide direct payments to Americans of $2,000 per person.
Her announcement came moments after House Republicans blocked a Democratic bid to increase the payments from the $600 per individual as passed in the stimulus bill earlier this week to the $2,000 amount.
“On Monday, I will bring the House back to session where we will hold a recorded vote on our stand-alone bill to increase economic impact payments to $2,000. To vote against this bill is to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny them the relief they need,” Pelosi said in a statement Thursday morning.
Dec. 23, 202001:42
“Hopefully by then the president will have already signed the bipartisan and bicameral legislation to keep government open and to deliver coronavirus relief,” she added.
Thursday’s failed vote was just the latest chapter in the ongoing saga in lawmakers’ attempts to pass a massive stimulus package designed to provide economic relief amid the crippling Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic collapse.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump shredded the year-end spending and Covid-19 relief package, saying it includes too many provisions that have nothing to do with the pandemic and is too stingy with payments to average Americans. The $900 billion relief package passed by both chambers of Congress included a new round of direct payments and help for jobless Americans, families and businesses struggling in the pandemic.
But in a video Trump posted to Twitter Tuesday night, he complained that the $600 stimulus checks included in the bill were too small, arguing that qualifying individuals should receive $2,000 and couples should get $4,000.
After Trump’s comments, House Democrats rushed to schedule a vote that would increase the payments as Trump demanded. Because many members of the House are out of town, Hoyer said, leaders tried to pass the bill by unanimous consent, which meant any single member could kill it.
Its failure to advance Thursday morning throws into further doubt the future of any imminent financial relief for millions of struggling Americans.
Trump’s comments on Tuesday sent Washington spiraling into chaos after lawmakers spent months hashing out a deal on the largest piece of legislation in 2020 and left many frustrated that Trump waited so long to voice his concerns after largely sitting out the negotiation process.
Before Trump spoke, all signs and expectations had been that he intended to sign the relief bill as soon as it lands on his desk, possibly later this week. White House aides, in fact, said as much.
House Democrats, who had advocated higher direct checks only to encounter Republican resistance in the Senate, immediately said they welcomed Trump’s support for sending out more money.
The legislation already passed by Congress included two bills that were combined: One was the Covid-19 relief and stimulus bill, and the other was a large spending bill to fund the government through next September. If the spending bill is not enacted into law, the government will have to start shutting down beginning on Tuesday.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
