The House Just Passed a Measure to Increase Stimulus Checks to $2,000
On Monday, the House of Representatives moved quickly to pass a measure that increases the stimulus checks for Americans under a certain income level to $2,000. The legislation passed with a 275-134 vote. 44 Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the measure.
The move came after President Donald Trump, somewhat begrudgingly, signed a new Coronavirus relief bill into law on Sunday night. That bill, which lawmakers had spent months negotiating, provides $600 in direct payments to Americans making up to $75,000. But before signing the bill into law, President Trump railed against it, saying the amount was “measly.” Then last week, in a video posted to his personal Twitter account, President Trump called on congress to increase the payments to $2,000. The House of Representatives, led by Speaker Pelosi, heeded his call.
“The House and the President are in agreement: we must deliver $2,000 checks to American families struggling this Holiday Season,” wrote Speaker Pelosi on Twitter. “ The House just passed the #CASHAct — it’s time for the Senate to do the same.”
By using Trump’s complaint as fuel to pass their legislation, House Democrats are forcing GOP lawmakers to either defy the President and stick to their original argument that $2,000 checks are prohibitively expensive, or completely contradict themselves. It’s an unenviable position to be in, especially for senators like Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and David Perdue (R-GA) who are facing a special election at the end of the month that will determine the political makeup of the Senate.
According to the Huffington Post, of the many Republicans who opposed the bill, including notable Trump allies like Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, very few offered reasons for their opposition. One exception was Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), the ranking Republican on the Ways and Means Committee. “I worry that this whopping $463 billion won’t do what’s needed,” said Rep. Brady ahead of Monday night’s vote. “Stimulate the economy or get the jobless back to work.”
Over in the Senate, minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is eager to begin discussing the bill.
“The House just took a strong, bipartisan vote to pass $2,000 checks,” wrote Sen. Schumer on Twitter. “Tomorrow, I'll move to pass the bill in the Senate. Workers, families, and people are crying out for help. Every Senate Democrat is for this relief. Senate Republicans should not stand in the way.”
Marco Rubio (R-FL) has already signaled his support for the legislation. In a statement released earlier this evening Rubio said, “I share many of my colleagues’ concern about the long-term effects of additional spending, but we cannot ignore the fact that millions of working class families across the nation are still in dire need of relief. Congress should quickly pass legislation to increase direct payments to Americans to $2,000.”
As of now, it remains unclear if other Republicans will join Sen. Rubio in supporting the new legislation.
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