Republican Sen. Pat Toomey
Patrick (Pat) Joseph ToomeyThe government used the Patriot Act to collect records of website visitors in 2019 The appeals court ruled that the mass collection of telephone data from the NSA is illegal. (Pa.) On Tuesday night he announced that he would oppose a request to quickly approve legislation passed by the House to increase the amount of direct stimulus checks to $ 2,000.
Toomey is one of several Republican senators who would oppose such a request, including Sens. Ron Johnson
Ronald (Ron) Harold JohnsonSchumer will try to approve the K stimulus check project on Tuesday this week: Trump’s control over Hill’s allies faces test At COVID-19, foreign policy elites are as polarized as the public MORE (R-Wis.) And Rand Paul
Randal (Rand) Howard Paul Sanders to slow the NDAA veto override in an attempt to get the K House check proposal vote overturned Trump’s veto on the defense bill This week: Trump’s control over Hill’s allies faces test MORE (R-Ky.), According to a Republican Party adviser in the Senate.
“Congress must continue to help workers who have lost their jobs. But blindly borrowing more than $ 600 billion so that we can send checks for $ 2,000 to millions of people who have not lost any income is a terrible policy. I will not consent to vote for it, ”Toomey tweeted on Tuesday night.
Congress must continue to help workers who have lost their jobs. But to blindly borrow more than $ 600 billion so that we can send checks for $ 2,000 to millions of people who have not lost any income is a terrible policy. I will not consent to vote on that. https://t.co/hCOlgcFPnq
– Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) December 29, 2020
Toomey announced that he will retire from Congress in late 2022 and that he has no plans to run for political office again.
His statement shows that the Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSanders to slow down NDAA veto bidding to get vote on K Schumer check proposal to try to approve K stimulus check bill Tuesday Rubio supports Trump’s push for $ 10,000 payments direct (R-Ky.) It is not the only obstacle to passing legislation passed by the House on Monday to increase the size of direct stimulus checks from $ 600 to $ 2,000.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper
Jacob (Jake) Paul TapperJake Tapper says he is not going to interview McEnany because she “lies the way most people breathe”. MORE, Toomey said on Tuesday that “it is a very bad idea” to significantly expand the size of stimulus checks.
“We are talking about sending checks, the vast majority of which will go to people who have not experienced any loss of revenue,” he said. “How and why does this make any sense?”
Toomey said he would increase the total cost of stimulus checks to two-thirds of $ 1 trillion.
He said sending $ 1,200 stimulus checks under the CARES Act in March was “iffy” but defensible because the economy was on the verge of collapse, a danger that has since diminished.
Democrats tried to portray McConnell as the main obstacle, but even if the Republican Party leader agreed to an immediate vote on legislation that increases the size of stimulus checks, that the Senate minority leader Charles Schumer
New York Democratic Party President Chuck Schumer warns Ocasio-Cortez against challenging the preview of Schumer’s Sunday programs: relief from COVID-19 awaiting Trump’s signature; government continues launch of Trump and Pelosi vaccine to unite for $ 2,000 aid checks (DN.Y.) demanded, would still face opposition from the Republican Party.
“There will be no vote,” said a Republican Senate aide, saying that ordinary senators would raise procedural obstacles to delay the bill passed by the House as much as possible.
“There would be an objection from Toomey to consider this, and we’ve already had objections from Johnson. You can expect an objection from Paul. It is simply ridiculous that Democrats are suggesting that we consent to a vote on a $ 500 billion account that sends $ 2,000 checks to children, which sends $ 2,000 checks to people who died this year and $ 2,000 checks to people who have not lost income ”Said the added aide.
Schumer on Tuesday tried to increase pressure on McConnell by urging him to immediately schedule a vote on legislation passed by the House to provide $ 2,000 stimulus checks.
“As we all know, the majority leader controls programming on the ground, so McConnell has the key to solving this dilemma,” he said.
The House approved the measure by a vote of 275 to 134 with the support of 44 Republicans.
The Republican Party leader on Tuesday opposed Schumer’s request for unanimous consent to proceed immediately with the House bill to increase stimulus checks to $ 2,000 per individual.
Instead, McConnell said the Senate will “initiate a process” to increase direct financial support for American families, as well as review the liability protection that “Big Tech” social media platforms enjoy under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and explore additional safeguards against fraud elections – three of President Trump
Donald TrumpTrump calls for an end to “religious persecution worldwide” on the 850th anniversary of Thomas Becket’s death. The interview with Michael Cohen raises questions after he mentions friends from prison ‘Tony Meatballs and Big Minty’ Ocasio-Cortez against Democrats and Republicans who opposed $ 1,000 direct payments MOREmain priorities for.
McConnell released a proposal on Tuesday to increase stimulus checks to $ 2,000, revoke Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and create an 18-member bipartisan advisory committee to “study the integrity and administration” of the 2020 election, which Trump claimed without evidence was distorted by fraud.
Toomey on Tuesday raised concerns about revoking liability protections for social media platforms, which could be an advantage for plaintiffs’ lawyers.
“The idea that Section 230 should be repealed … I think it’s an important and complicated issue. This legal liability protection that we gave these internet companies years ago really allowed for spectacular growth across a whole new industry that has done so much for our economy, ”he told CNN.
“Are you being abused in some cases? I think it is, in fact, ”he said of securing Section 230 for technology companies. “But I don’t think you just decide to one day throw everything away. I think we have to think about what are the unintended consequences of that. ”
Updated at 19:20