House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she will take a vote on Monday to approve the $ 2,000 COVID-19 stimulus checks requested by President Trump after Republicans blocked his unanimous Christmas Eve vote.
House Republicans accuse Pelosi (D-Calif.) Of ignoring Trump’s request to destroy the $ 2.3 trillion spending account that was approved this week of billions in foreign aid. Democrats rejected their counter offer on Thursday to reconsider those funds.
Pelosi, who promptly accepted Trump’s demand Tuesday night for $ 600 stimulus checks to be increased to $ 2,000, attacked Republicans for opposing unanimous approval.
“Today, on Christmas Eve morning, House Republicans cruelly deprived the American people of the $ 2,000 that the president agreed to support,” said Pelosi in a statement.
“If the president takes the $ 2,000 in direct payments seriously, he must ask House Republicans to end their obstruction.”
Some conservatives are alarmed by the growth of national debt during the coronavirus pandemic and do not want to approve more funds.
Most lawmakers are in their home districts for Christmas, which means it would not have been possible to have the 50 percent attendance needed to approve bills by call on Thursday.
Since Democrats control the House, the $ 2,000 checks are likely to be approved on Monday and sent to the Republican-controlled Senate for consideration.
Pelosi asked Trump to sign the huge bill before Monday.
On Saturday, about 12 million people will lose unemployment insurance if the bill is not signed.
The stimulus project would also establish a new $ 300 weekly unemployment supplement and offer $ 284 billion in forgery loans from the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses, as local authorities have again ordered restaurant closings and bars.
The grand project combined COVID-19 relief and government funding for most of 2021. If there is no agreement signed by law by December 29, there will be a partial government shutdown.