Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said in a floor speech on Wednesday that Democrats’ attempts to pass a standalone bill to disburse $2,000 stimulus checks has “no realistic chance” of passage.
McConnell is planning to organize a vote on a bill that combines the $2,000 checks with provisions to set up an election fraud commission and a repeal of Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. All three proposals are supported by President Trump, but it is unlikely that they will pass the Senate as one bill.
“It’s hardly clear that the federal government’s top priority should be sending thousands of dollars to” high earners, McConnell said. The Senate should work on “smart targeted aid, not another fire hose of borrowed money that encompasses other people who are doing just fine.”
McConnell added, “The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of Democrats’ rich friends who don’t need the help.”
While the $2,000 checks would be disbursed according to income level, married couples making between $150,000 and $200,000 a year, and in some cases up to $300,000 would still receive some funding under the plan.
President Trump announced his support for the $2,000 checks after congressional Republicans and Democrats agreed on $600 stimulus checks as part of the latest coronavirus relief package. Democrats including House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) promptly backed the measure.
Republican supporters of the $2,000 stimulus checks include Senators Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and Josh Hawley (R., Mo.), and Georgia Senate candidates Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue have also backed the measure.
Send a tip to the news team at NR.