House Approves Bill to Increase Stimulus Checks to $2,000

[Anta Assamey]

 

WASHINGTON -- The House voted Monday to send $2,000 stimulus checks to many Americans, a day after President Trump signed a sweeping Covid-19 aid bill into law but said that the $600 payments in that package were too small.

In a flurry of last-minute legislation, the House also prepared to attempt to override Mr. Trump's recent veto of the annual defense-policy bill.

The new stimulus-check legislation, driven by an unusual coalition of Democratic leaders and the Republican president, now heads to the Senate where its fate is uncertain. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) hasn't commented on whether he will take up the bill, Many in his party have opposed increasing the size of stimulus checks, which are expected to add several hundred billion dollars to the cost of the $900 billion aid package.

The House passed the bill 275 to 134, exceeding the two-thirds majority required under fast-track procedures. The legislation increases the amount of the checks to $2,000, up from $600 per adult and per child for individuals with adjusted gross incomes under $75,000. A family of four that qualifies for the payments would get $8,000 under the proposal.

Mr. Trump signed the pandemic-aid bill Sunday night, ending a standoff with Congress and paving the way for millions of Americans to get economic relief as coronavirus cases surge across the country. In signing the bill, the president called on Congress to increase the size of direct payments to Americans and said he wanted an investigation into alleged voter fraud and the repeal of a law concerning social-media companies.

Mr. Trump's decision to sign the aid bill came after extensive lobbying from Republican lawmakers and advisers, said people familiar with the conversations.

Mr. Trump made the final decision Sunday during a phone call with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.), said a person with knowledge of the talks. But it came after days of consultation with aides and allies, among them former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.

Allies argued that blocking the bill could hurt the chances of Republicans running in a Georgia special election on Jan. 5 that will determine control of the Senate. They also urged Mr. Trump to consider his political legacy and encouraged him to sign the bill while still pressing Congress to do more.

Another person familiar with the talks said that Mr. Trump was told by his advisers and those working on the Georgia race that a veto "could sink" the Republican incumbents, Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.

Congress isn't expected to heed many of the president's demands, but Democrats including President-elect Joe Biden have supported Mr. Trump's request to increase direct payments, an idea many Republicans have opposed.

House lawmakers were also planning on Monday to vote to override Mr. Trump's veto of the separate $740.5 billion National Defense Authorization Act defense-policy bill, which the president criticized because of provisions related to the removal of Confederate base names and troop levels abroad, as well as the legislation's lack of language revoking internet platforms' broad immunity for the content they publish from users on their sites.

Both the House and Senate passed the NDAA earlier this month with veto-proof majorities, but some Republicans have said they would side with Mr. Trump on the override vote. Should the House get the two-thirds majority needed to pass the override, the Senate plans to return on Tuesday to cast its votes on the matter. If successful, it would be the first time Congress has overridden one of Mr. Trump's vetoes.

Mr. Trump has raised objections to several parts of the NDAA and aid legislation. In his statement announcing he would sign the coronavirus aid bill, Mr. Trump said the Senate would "start the process" to vote on legislation to increase the direct payments, as well as roll back Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, related to online speech, and investigate alleged voter fraud.

"The president just put petty online feuds before our national security, " Rep. Val Demings (D., Fla.) said of his NDAA veto.

The president has maintained that social-media giants like Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. are using Section 230 to suppress conservative voices on their platforms. They deny those charges, although the social-media sites routinely flag the president's posts as unsubstantiated when he disputes the results of the November election. Mr. Trump has also asserted that the 2020 election was rife with voter fraud, but his allies have produced no evidence.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) declined to comment when asked about the legislation Mr. Trump said the Senate would consider. The Senate is slated to return on Tuesday, and Mr. McConnell will likely speak then.

The session of Congress ends on Jan. 3. It would be difficult for Congress to pass legislation on repealing Section 230 and open an investigation before that time. Lawmakers could take up the president's request in the new Congress, though Mr. Biden is to be inaugurated Jan. 20, and he will push different priorities.

The year-end package that the president signed includes a $1.4 trillion bill to continue government funding into September, a measure that Mr. Trump has said includes wasteful spending on foreign aid.

Mr. Trump said he would use the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to temporarily freeze some of the funding, though he is unlikely to be able to use the law to permanently hold up those funds, particularly because Mr. Biden will soon be inaugurated. Democrats said that the House would ignore Mr. Trump's request to rescind funding.

The 5,593-page year-end package includes money for government programs and foreign aid. It allocates $55.5 billion for discretionary funding in overseas operations, including fighting terrorism, which is $820 million more than the previous year, and $10.8 billion above the president's budget request.

About $26.5 billion will go to foreign countries for development assistance, global health programs and humanitarian assistance. That amount is $527 million above what was allocated in the previous year.

Much of this funding fulfills bilateral commitments the U.S. has with foreign nations. Much of the aid was requested by the Trump administration in the president's budget.

The coronavirus relief bill will restart unemployment programs and extend the maximum number of weeks a person can claim unemployment benefits to 50 weeks. It provides an additional $100-a-week subsidy for workers who have both wage and self-employment income but whose basic unemployment benefits don't take into account their self-employment income.

It also gives unemployed Americans a supplemental benefit of up to $300 a week, a cut from the previous $600 a week that ended in the summer.

The legislation extends until the end of January 2021 a federal eviction prohibition and provides $25 billion of assistance to tenants in arrears on their rent. It also contains billions of dollars to help airlines, small businesses, entertainment venues and farms, as well as money to help Americans get vaccinated from the virus.

The relief package was supported overwhelmingly by Democrats and Republicans. "This bipartisan bill will succeed in protecting both lives and livelihoods, with more money for small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program, hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts for families, and reforms to our unemployment system," said Rep. Kevin Brady (R., Texas).

Write to Natalie Andrews at [email protected] and Catherine Lucey at [email protected]

© 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

[Spartan]

ennostai @Anta Assamey  manaki

[Anta Assamey]

1 minute ago, Spartan said:

ennostai @Anta Assamey  manaki

As of now aite 1800 but idi kanuka Senate kuda clear ayyite appudu ... 6000 daka vastayi ....Kani senate in Reps hands...

[Spartan]

8 minutes ago, Anta Assamey said:

As of now aite 1800 but idi kanuka Senate kuda clear ayyite appudu ... 6000 daka vastayi ....Kani senate in Reps hands...

Trump ye kada adigindi 2k ani ...agree cheste baguntadi..   @Anta Assamey

[Anta Assamey]

1 minute ago, Spartan said:

Trump ye kada adigindi 2k ani ...agree cheste baguntadi..   @Anta Assamey

Ya Trump is up for it but not all republicans ... I wish it passes too .. 

[veerigadu]

Eee faisal panchadam entoooo. Stock market and economy is booming anadam ento. 

Only possible in vomerica  

[KisMisNaidu]

1 minute ago, veerigadu said:

Eee faisal panchadam entoooo. Stock market and economy is booming anadam ento. 

Only possible in vomerica  

No bro 

[r2d2]

Senate Republicans caught between the devil and the deep sea...

[Rendu]

Gop emi antundi ???

[Hitman]

10 apple shares anukunna వాళ్ళు .ippudu 2000 ayite oka 4 Tesla kooda veyyochu.. Overall గా మార్కెట్ ఇంకో 10% up. Good job అమెరికా.

[Bondu_Babu]

2 hours ago, Spartan said:

Trump ye kada adigindi 2k ani ...agree cheste baguntadi..   @Anta Assamey

Last time la direct deposit ayipotaya or else call cheyyala edo thread lo cheppinattu 

[quickgun_murugun]

3 hours ago, Spartan said:

Trump ye kada adigindi 2k ani ...agree cheste baguntadi..   @Anta Assamey

Adokkatey kaadu chala adigadu @TRUMP thatha 

 

The Senate will start the process for a vote that increases checks to $2,000, repeals Section 230, and starts an investigation into voter fraud.

Big Tech must not get protections of Section 230!

Voter Fraud must be fixed!

Much more money is coming. I will never give up my fight for the American people!