Trump asks Congress to amend $900B COVID-19 relief bill, increase stimulus checks to $2,000
President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for lawmakers to amend the $900 billion pandemic relief package that was passed by Congress on Monday, which was set to deliver long-sought cash
President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for lawmakers to amend the $900 billion pandemic relief package that was passed by Congress on Monday, which was set to deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
In a video posted to Twitter, Trump called on Congress to increase the $600 stimulus payments contained in the bill to $2,000 per person, or $4,000 for married couples.
The Senate cleared the massive package by a 92-6 vote after the House approved the COVID-19 package by another lopsided vote, 359-53. Lawmakers tacked on a $1.4 trillion catchall spending bill and thousands of pages of other end-of-session business in a massive bundle of bipartisan legislation as Capitol Hill prepared to close the books on the year.
The passage came after months of politicking and partisanship as lawmakers wrangled over the relief question, a logjam that broke after President-elect Joe Biden urged his party to accept a compromise with top Republicans that is smaller than many Democrats would have liked.
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.
Source: Fox5DC
