Sen. Pat Toomey this week objected to pressure to pass legislation that would increase the value of stimulus checks from $ 600 to $ 2,000.
Toomey (R-Pa.), Widely known as a budget and deficit hawk, has repeatedly repressed efforts by President Trump, Democrats and some Republicans to increase direct payments on Tuesday.
“Borrowing blindly or printing another two-thirds of a trillion dollars so that we can send $ 2,000 to children, deceased and tens of millions of workers who have not missed payment, as federal and state employees, is not a sound economic policy or it is something I am willing to support, ”said Toomey, who will retire after his term ends in 2022, in a statement.
Promising not to “consent to vote on this,” the Pennsylvania senator also declined to allow any undirected relief in a Tuesday tweet.
“Congress should continue to help workers who have lost their jobs,” he argued, calling the loan necessary to pay for such an effort a “terrible policy.”
Pressed about his opposition to the rise of checks on CNN that afternoon, Toomey maintained his position, explaining that he was against checks going to people who had no loss of income due to this crisis.
“It doesn’t make sense. We are in a very different place today than we were in March,” he argued.
Last Tuesday, the commander-in-chief called the bipartisan coronavirus relief project a “disgrace” and asked Congress to change it.
The legislation, which was linked to a $ 1.4 trillion government funding bill, passed the House and Senate with veto-proof majorities, but Trump argued that the package needed to be worked on.
Trump’s biggest complaint about the deal was the size of direct payments, and he asked Congress last week to amend the bill and increase each check to $ 2,000, as well as eliminate billions of dollars in foreign aid.
He announced that he signed the measure on Sunday, but warned that he would ask millions of dollars in spending to be withdrawn from the account.
Since then, the Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) And David Perdue (R-Ga.) Arrived in support of $ checks 2,000.