The minority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, tried to amend the bill by seeking the unanimous consent of the Senate, but all senators could block the bill in that way. McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, was against the motion.
On Monday, the House of Representatives, with broad bipartisan support, adopted a stimulus increase. Democratic leaders called President Donald Trump’s criticism of the $600 overpayment, as well as GOP chair pressure for more stimulus in his attempt to push through the Senate amendments.
The measure could be voted on again later in the Senate and it was not yet clear what Mr McConnell would do Tuesday afternoon. Many Republican senators opposed an increase in stimulus payments during negotiations on the Covid-19 aid plan later this year, citing the rising cost of the plan. Yet several GOP senators – including two members facing a run-off election in Georgia next week – have advocated pushing Trump to increase payments even after Congress passed a law to do so last week.
McConnell said Tuesday that the Senate will consider three of Trump’s priorities this week: continued direct financial assistance to Americans, reviewing Section 230 protection for technology companies and efforts to ensure the integrity of elections. The revision of article 230 came after the government vetoed the Defence Licensing Act, which contains no changes to a law that protects internet companies from liability for what they or third parties publish on their sites.
Mr McConnell’s comment on Mr Trump’s attention to priorities was not binding on the vote on these issues. This deadlock leaves the NDAA Senate to challenge the vote, and the majority leader may have to take legal steps to overcome the objections and schedule a vote later in the week.
Schumer called on the Senate to join Trump and the House of Representatives to increase the number of controls, arguing that American workers were trapped during the pandemic.
The quickest way to put money in the Americans’ pockets is to send some of the taxes where they come from, he said.
Schumer said $600 isn’t enough for Americans who need extra money for food and rent, and rejected concerns that the proposal would add too much money to the shortfall. He said Republicans have already remitted nearly $2 trillion in tax cuts and have recently fought to establish a business food tax credit.
Fault! The file name is not specified.
I don’t want to hear that we can’t afford it, Schumer said.
If the bill gets a full vote in the Senate, at least 12 Republican senators will have to join all members of the Democratic Party assembly to exceed the electoral threshold of 60 votes and move on.
These are three important issues that the president has connected, McConnell said. This week, the Senate will begin to focus on these three priorities.
Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who said he would filibuster if McConnell didn’t get 2,000 cheques on the ballot, continues to push for bigger cheques.
Our nation’s leaders, President Trump, President-elect Biden, minority leader Chuck Schumer and House president Nancy Pelosi, all agree, Sanders said in a statement. We need to increase the direct payment to $2,000. So that’s where we are at this historic moment. Do we turn our backs on working families in need or do we respond to their pain?
The $600 round of stimulus payments included in the $900 billion Covid aid package that came into effect Sunday evening is expected to begin this week, a CNN administration official said, acknowledging that the program could change. As in the first round, the new payments will be phased out for those with an adjusted gross income of more than $75,000, and those earning more than $99,000 will receive nothing. The income limits for couples are doubled.
Kevin Liptak of CNN contributed to this report.
Related Tags:
update on 2nd stimulus,2nd government stimulus check,stimulus news update,new stimulus check status