The fate of #President #Donald #Trump’s call to increase pandemic aid checks to $2,000 was in doubt #Tuesday as #Senate #Majority #Leader #Mitch #McConnell blocked #Democrats’ initial attempt to approve increased payments.
#All eyes are on #McConnell and whether he will allow a bill increasing the one-time payments from $600 to $2,000. #After blocking quick passage of a measure that would increase the payments, the #Kentucky #Republican introduced a bill #Tuesday that includes demands by the president – on contentious issues that #Democrats are not likely to support and thus would kill any chances of increasing aid payments.
The bill would increase checks to $2,000 but includes a repeal of #Section 230 of the #Communications #Decency #Act, which grants certain legal protections for big tech companies, and would establish a commission to study election fraud. The commission would examine many of the concerns #Trump has raised since losing the election and would “make recommendations to #Congress to improve the security, integrity, and administration of #Federal elections,” the bill says. The president hasn’t provided proof to back his claims, and the #Justice #Department found no evidence of widespread fraud in last month’s election.
#Senate #Minority #Leader #Chuck #Schumer, D-N.Y., circulated copies of the bill, noting there was no way #Democrats would support the legislation and it stood no chance of reaching #Trump’s desk.
“#If #Sen. #McConnell tries loading up the bipartisan #House-passed CASH (#Caring for #Americans with #Supplemental #Help) #Act with unrelated, partisan provisions that will do absolutely nothing to help struggling families across the country, it will not pass the #House and cannot become law – any move like this by #Sen. #McConnell would a blatant attempt to deprive #Americans of a $2,000 survival check,” #Schumer said in a statement. “#Will #Senate #Republicans go along with #Sen. #McConnell’s cynical gambit or will they push him to give a vote on the standalone #House-passed CASH #Act?”
The measure #McConnell introduced hasn’t been scheduled for a vote, and it’s unclear whether it will receive the backing of his conference, some of whom have voiced support for increasing aid payments to struggling #Americans.
#On the #Senate floor earlier #Tuesday, #McConnell hinted at the prospect of linking aid payments, the #Section 230 repeal and the election study, noting the president’s demands.
“#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 on the #Senate floor.
#McConnell’s proposal could hinder any chances of passing increased aid checks as #Democrats and #Republicans differ on the issues of big tech immunity and election integrity. #Democrats called on the #Kentucky #Republican to pass a standalone proposal on raising aid checks.
#Trump threatened #Republicans on #Twitter after #McConnell blocked the effort to raise relief payments, telling conservatives to “get tough” and immediately approve more funds for #Americans.
“#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!” #Trump wrote. “#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!”
The #Senate majority leader did not give a timeline for when or if the chamber might take up increased relief payments or #Trump’s other demands. The #House passed a measure #Monday that would raise the payments to $2,000 with bipartisan support. #Forty-four #House #Republicans joined #Democrats in voting for the measure as 130 rejected it.
#Schumer attempted to put more pressure on #McConnell over the matter before the GOP leader blocked his unanimous consent request to pass increased aid payments. #Schumer noted, “#McConnell holds the key to unlocking this dilemma” and could simply allow his request to pass and give #Americans more financial help.
“$600? #Nope, it’s not enough,” #Schumer said on the #Senate floor. “$2,000 stimulus checks could mean the difference between #American families having groceries for a few extra weeks or going hungry. The difference between paying the rent or being kicked out of your home that you’ve lived in for years. #It could buy precious time for tens of millions of people, as the vaccine thankfully makes its way across the country.”
The proposal has put the GOP in a precarious position. #For months, #Senate #Republicans have urged limiting the size of the aid payments, citing concerns about the national debt. #But after his own administration negotiated a $900 billion coronavirus relief package, #Trump demanded that #Congress increase the payments from $600 to $2,000.
#More:#House approves increasing coronavirus aid checks to $2,000 for #Americans, sends bill to #Senate
#Though a handful of #Senate #Republicans have come out in favor of increasing relief checks, most are opposed. #Holding a vote on the measure would put senators on the spot to either reject #Trump’s demands for increased checks or relent on long-held objections to adding to the debt.
#Further complicating matters, both of #Georgia’s GOP senators – #Kelly #Loeffler and #David #Perdue – announced #Tuesday they favor increasing checks from $600 to $2,000. #Both face close runoff elections next week that will determine which party controls the U.S. #Senate, and their #Democratic opponents have ramped up attacks over the coronavirus aid debacle.
Their support ramped up pressure on #McConnell, who is keen on helping #Loeffler and #Perdue win their races #Jan. 5.
The #Senate faces another difficult vote on overriding #Trump’s veto of the #National #Defense #Authorization #Act. The #House voted #Monday to override the president’s veto, shifting the measure to the #Senate.
#McConnell scheduled a vote to override #Trump’s veto #Wednesday, but #Sen. #Bernie #Sanders, I-Vt., objected in hopes of holding up #Senate business until the majority leader scheduled a vote on increasing relief payments.
#More:#House overrides #Trump’s #National #Defense #Authorization #Act veto – the first of his presidency
The NDAA, a $741 billion national security package, would raise troops’ pay, direct the purchase of weapons and set military policies. #It passed the #House and #Senate with overwhelming support by both parties but drew #Trump’s ire largely over two policies.
The bill addresses stripping names, symbols, displays, monuments and other paraphernalia that honor the #Confederacy. #It would establish a commission to study and develop a plan, its cost and the criteria for renaming bases such as the #Army’s #Forts #Benning, #Bragg, #Hood and others. #Trump has said he is against changing the names of bases named for #Confederate military leaders.
#Trump criticized the legislation for not including language that would strip social media companies from the protections they enjoy under #Section 230 of the #Communications #Decency #Act. The measure, adopted in 1996, prevents companies such as #Twitter and #Facebook from being sued by anyone claiming to be harmed by a post.
The #Senate is likely to consider the veto override this week. #If passed, it would mark the first time #Congress has overridden a #Trump veto since the start of his presidency.
#Contributing: #Rebecca #Morin
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/12/29/mcconnell-blocks-immediate-action-senate-stimulus-checks/4073258001/
##McConnell #blocks #action #checks