Newsman: The Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed a bill Monday evening to increase direct coronavirus relief payments to $2, 000, for Americans under a certain income level after President Donald Trump asked lawmakers and delayed signing the $900 billion covid-19 relief bill with the government funding bill of $1.4 trillion. The bill now has been sent to the Senate for the final approval. The final outcome of this bill is still uncertain and it is not clear whether the senate will pass the#CASHAct that passed by the house Monday evening. This bill however, may play important role to Georgia runoff election
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., applauded the vote Monday, saying, “The House and the President are in agreement: we must deliver $2,000 checks to American families struggling this Holiday Season. The House just passed the #CASHAct — it’s time for the Senate to do the same.” If the Senate also green-lights the $2,000 stimulus checks, Americans who have already received the original $600 will get a second payment of $1,400 to bring them to $2,000.
When Trump finally did sign the legislation Sunday evening, he signaled in a statement that he signed the coronavirus relief bill only after securing a commitment for the Senate to consider legislation to increase stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000. But the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, did not reference that commitment in his own statement Sunday night praising the President for signing the relief bill.
Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont., later Monday threatened to delay a separate vote this week to override Trump’s veto of the annual defense authorization bill if McConnell doesn’t take action on the new relief bill.
“Let me be clear: If Senator McConnell doesn’t agree to an up or down vote to provide the working people of our country a $2,000 direct payment, Congress will not be going home for New Year’s Eve,” Sanders said in a statement. “Let’s do our job.”
The Senate Democratic leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, announced Monday that he planned to try and quickly pass the measure in the GOP-led chamber through requesting a unanimous consent agreement, which can be blocked by any senators who opposes it.
“Following the strong bipartisan vote in the House, tomorrow I will move to pass the legislation in the Senate to quickly deliver Americans with $2,000 emergency checks,” Schumer said in a statement. “Every Senate Democrat is for this much-needed increase in emergency financial relief, which can be approved tomorrow if no Republican blocks it — there is no good reason for Senate Republicans to stand in the way” he added.
