Trump asks Congress to amend $900B COVID-19 relief bill, increase stimulus checks to $2,000

Trump outlined a litany of items the $900 billion legislation that he deemed “wasteful,” including new construction funding for the Federal Bureau of Investigations, as well as money to assist the country of Cambodia.

“For example, among the more than 5,000 pages in this bill — which nobody in Congress has read because of its length and complexity — It’s called the COVID relief bill, but it has almost nothing to do with COVID. This bill contains $85.5 million for assistance to Cambodia. $143 million to Burma. $1.3 billion for Egypt and the Egyptian military, which will go out and buy almost exclusively Russian military equipment. $25 million for democracy and gender programs in Pakistan,” Trump said.

He also pointed to museums such as the Smithsonian and the National Gallery of Art being included in relief funds from the bill.

“These facilities are essentially not open,” Trump said.”Congress found plenty of money for foreign countries, lobbyists and special interests, while sending the bare minimum to the American people who need it. It wasn’t their fault, it was China’s fault,” Trump continued.

 

“I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 for a couple. I’m also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation. And to send me a suitable bill or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package, and maybe that administration will be me. And we will get it done,” Trump said, hinting that he would not sign the legislation in its current form, while also alluding to a false claim that he won the 2020 election.

The bill combines coronavirus-fighting funds with financial relief for individuals and businesses. It establishes a temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefit and a $600 direct stimulus payment to most Americans, along with a new round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses, restaurants, and theaters and money for schools, health care providers and renters facing eviction.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a key negotiator, said on CNBC Monday that the direct $600 stimulus payments would begin arriving in bank accounts next week. American adults who earn less than $75,000 will receive the full $600 check, while couples who earn less than $150,000 will receive $1,200, with payments phased out for higher incomes.

An additional $600 payment will be made per dependent child, similar to the last round of relief payments in the spring.