Bipartisan calls to increase the amount of COVID-19 relief checks to $2,000 is facing resistance in the GOP-controlled Senate and sparking division …
Bipartisan calls to increase the amount of COVID-19 relief checks to $2,000 is facing resistance in the GOP-controlled Senate and sparking division between President Trump and Republican lawmakers. Calls to boost the amount of the direct payments from $600 are gaining support, with Trump, Democratic leadership and a growing number of GOP senators, including vulnerable incumbents in Georgia, backing the effort. But a House-passed bill is still facing headwinds in the Senate that could doom its chances. The House has already left Washington, D.C., meaning that for the bill to become law, it must pass the Senate, without any changes, before noon on Sunday, when the 117th Congress is sworn in. McConnell blocked two efforts by Democrats on Tuesday to take up the House legislation, instead signaling he could try to package the increase with changes to legal protections for technology companies and election-related investigations. « The president highlighted three additional issues of national significance he would like to see Congress tackle together…. Those are the three important subjects the president has linked together. This week, the Senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus, » McConnell said from the Senate floor. McConnell’s strategy comes after Trump, in his statement on signing the $2.3 trillion package, said the Senate would “start the process for a vote” that tackles the three issues. After McConnell blocked the efforts from Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Trump tweeted that Republicans need to promptly pass legislation to increase the checks to $2,000. But Trump in the same tweet also brought up election investigations and repealing Section 230, a law he describes as a tech shield. “Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP. $600 IS NOT ENOUGH! Also, get rid of Section 230 – Don’t let Big Tech steal our Country, and don’t let the Democrats steal the Presidential Election. Get tough!” he tweeted. There’s growing support within the caucus for increasing the amount of the checks, and the public rebuke from Trump comes as the caucus is fighting to keep control of the Senate majority, needing to win two runoff elections in Georgia next month. Georgia GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler came out in support of $2,000 payments on Tuesday. Their Democratic opponents, Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, respectively, had already expressed their support for larger checks and have made the issue of direct payments a key part of their campaigns. “I’m delighted to support the president in this $2,000….
