Republicans are likely to block Democrats’ attempts to get the Senate to follow the House, raising stimulus payments for most Americans to $ 2,000, although President Donald Trump supports the larger checks.
Forty-four House Republicans joined 231 Democrats on Monday to approve a bill that increases payments by the $ 600 pandemic relief legislation that Trump signed on Sunday. His surprise demand last week for higher payments put Republicans in trouble after they resisted anything above $ 600 during lengthy negotiations on the original bill. Democrats were quick to use this as a pressure point.
Photographer: Oliver Contreras / Bloomberg
“The House and the President are in agreement: we must deliver checks for US $ 2,000 to American families that are struggling during this holiday season,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a tweet, asking the Senate to approve the higher payments. .
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell did not say whether the Senate would approve the House bill, try to vote for another that would also increase direct payments or simply ignore the issue. Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said he would seek unanimous consent to approve the House bill on Tuesday. But the action should raise an objection from a Republican, effectively ending the effort.
A lot depends on whether the president goes ahead with the issue or uses it to attack Senate Republicans.
He expressed anger at McConnell and other Republican leaders for not supporting his quixotic attempt to reverse election results. Now that the issue of $ 2,000 checks is in the Senate, Trump can turn to social media to get attention and try to pressure Republicans to act on the bill.
The Senate would likely need unanimous consent to be able to vote on both the nullification of the defense bill and the $ 2,000 check legislation before this session of Congress expires on Sunday. It is unlikely to obtain such an agreement.
That may leave it to the administration of President-elect Joe Biden, who said he will seek additional stimulus soon after being installed on January 20. However, whether he will be free to obtain additional relief through Congress will depend on the outcome of two runoff elections in Georgia on January 5 that will decide Senate control. If Republicans hold only one of these seats, McConnell will remain the leader of the majority and able to control the Senate agenda.
The House bill released the chamber in 275 votes to 134 votes. In addition to increasing payment amounts and cutting income to receive a check, the legislation would increase the eligibility of family members who can receive the money, allowing adult dependents as well as child dependents to receive payments. Currently, only children of adults below income limits qualify for payments.
The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Budget estimates that larger payments would increase disposable income in the first quarter to up to 25% above pre-pandemic levels. The legislation would generate an additional 1.5% in GDP production, but not all growth would occur in 2021, according to Marc Goldwein, an economist who co-authored CRFB’s projections.
But many Republicans have opposed stimulus payments greater than the existing law’s $ 600, in part because of price concerns. Raising payments to $ 2,000 would cost about $ 463.8 billion, according to estimates by the Joint Taxation Committee staff.
“I am concerned that these colossal $ 463 billion will not do what is necessary, stimulate the economy or help workers get back to work,” said Rep. Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican, before the House vote. “It is difficult to stimulate the economy blocked by local politicians.”
‘No’ votes
Pennsylvania Republican Senator Pat Toomey said on Sunday that he would vote against $ 2,000 checks, and Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, blocked the attempt to raise payments to $ 1,200 when pandemic relief legislation was being debated. During months of Covid-19 relief negotiations, Republicans fought any direct payments and insisted that $ 600 was the maximum they could support in this round of economic aid.
“Essentially, what they believe is that the economy will repair itself,” said the majority leader in the House, Steny Hoyer.
A vote against increased payments would put Senate Republicans at odds with their party leader and officially against a politically popular idea in a week when Republicans are trying to remain unified before Georgia’s runoff.
In that dispute, Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock asked Republican presidents, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, to support raising the stimulus payments to $ 2,000. Loeffler said he would consider the increase if it is offset by spending cuts elsewhere; Perdue has not publicly taken a position. If Schumer is prevented from asking for unanimous consent, as expected, none of the senators will be forced to vote officially.
The relief bill passed by Congress has already played a role in Georgia’s disputes. After Trump criticized the legislation, raising the possibility of vetoing it, Perdue pressured the president on a Christmas day phone call to sign it, fearing that Trump’s delay would hurt his chances and Loeffler’s in the second round.
Trump called the $ 600 stimulus checks “a disgrace” and asked Congress to increase them to $ 2,000 while cutting foreign aid and other unspecified “pigs” from legislation combining virus relief with operations financing government. After days of complaints, Trump capitulated on Sunday night and signed the more than $ 2.3 trillion bill.
In a statement that accompanied his signature of the broader legislation, Trump said the Senate had agreed to initiate the voting process for the $ 2,000 checks along with a move to reform unrelated liability protections for technology companies and an investigation into alleged electoral fraud. McConnell has made no public statement about such an agreement.
– With the help of Laura Davison, Jennifer Jacobs and Nancy Cook