- Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, from New York, clapped her hands for a Republican congressman who opposed the direct payment of $ 2,000 in coronavirus relief for most Americans, parodying their reason for opposing them.
- The House passed a $ 2,000 bill on Monday. The vote now goes to the Senate, where approval is unlikely.
- Republican Party representative Kevin Brady said he opposed the $ 2,000 sum because, in his opinion, the money would go towards paying off credit card debts and “new online purchases at Walmart, Best Buy or Amazon”.
- The congresswoman responded to Brady’s statement with a parody reformulation of her reasoning.
- “‘I don’t support $ 2,000 survival checks because they can help people get rid of debts that our governmental inaction helped to put or keep them in the first place.’ – GOP Congressman, “Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Monday at night.
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Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, from New York, applauded the reasoning of a Republican colleague against raising the so-called stimulus checks to $ 2,000.
President Donald Trump signed on Sunday the bipartisan coronavirus aid package, which included $ 600 in direct payments for most Americans, along with $ 300 in weekly federal unemployment benefits in mid-March, $ 25 billion in rental assistance and help for small businesses and funding for vaccine education and distribution.
In announcing that he signed the bill, the president also reiterated his calls to Congress to increase the amount of direct payments to $ 2,000 – a goal he shares with many Democrats and some Republicans.
On Monday, the House reached the two-thirds majority needed to pass an accelerated bill increasing payment amounts.
The bill now heads to the Senate controlled by the Republican Party, where it is unlikely to pass, despite the support of some Republicans, including Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.
Read More: Trump signs bipartisan coronavirus aid bill after asking Congress to approve $ 2,000 stimulus checks
Some GOP voices, however, oppose the $ 2,000 figure. GOP representative Kevin Brady said on House floor that he did not approve the increase in stimulus checks, saying the money would go towards paying off credit card debts and “new online purchases at Walmart, Best Buy or Amazon”.
He argued that more money should be directed towards helping small and medium-sized businesses. His speech was then paraphrased and criticized on twitter by Matt Fuller of HuffPost.
Ocasio-Cortez, a prominent progressive voice who advocated higher direct payments to Americans, criticized Brady’s reasoning behind his opposition, responding to his statement with a parody reformulation.
“‘I do not support $ 2,000 survival checks because they can help people get rid of the debts that our government inaction helped to put or keep them in the first place.’ – GOP Congressman, “Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Monday at night.
In another tweet, Ocasio-Cortez attacked the group of Republican Party members who opposed the lines of the package promoted by House Democrats, including direct payments of $ 2,000.
“Notice how Republican congressmen who like to claim they are the ‘personal responsibility’ party refuse to take any responsibility for blocking retroactive unemployment benefits, voting against $ 2,000 survival checks, raising questions about the pandemic to begin with. , etc., “A New York Congresswoman wrote.