Stimulus checks update: Clear opposition mounting from Republicans

Initially, it seemed like a second round of stimulus checks was virtually be inevitable.

With the historic levels of unemployment and decreased hours available for employees, many people have not been able to pay basic expenses and bills.

Multiple surveys now show that the stimulus checks that have been sent out simply will not be enough.

There is the SimplyWise survey I have written about which shows 63% of Americans will likely need an additional stimulus check within the next three months.

But there’s also an additional survey by BankRate that shows that 55% of respondents anticipated that economic impact payments would sustain them for less than three months. 

So clearly, the majority of the country does not feel like the current aid they have received will be enough for them in a matter of months.

There is growing support among Democrats for additional rounds of stimulus checks. 

Just in the last week, the bill has gained more cosponsors from lawmakers and 62 members of Congress also signed a letter in favor of recurring monthly payments. 

But that is only support within Democrats.

Unlike the first round of stimulus checks, Republicans are not getting on board with the idea of sending out more checks. 

And now we are starting to see more clear opposition to sending out more stimulus checks.

Below are some key quotes sample from Republicans via Forbes/The Hill:

Steve Scalise:

“[I]t’s incredibly tone-deaf of Speaker Pelosi to continue using this crisis to push these radical socialist ideas that have been consistently rejected […] what we should be focused on is responsibly implementing the relief packages we passed to get trillions of dollars directly into the hands of families and businesses so the American people have jobs and an economy to come back to when we finally reopen.”

Paul Mitchell: 

“We already have a universal basic income — it’s called work. We also have SSDI for people who are unable to work physically or due to disabilities. We have security if you’re older, they’ve earned it […] we have a variety of forms of support for people like unemployment compensation and public assistance for purely short-term assistance so I’m trying to understand exactly what [Nancy Pelosi] wants to do besides throw more money at people.”

Jim Banks: 

Rep. Jim Banks remarked Democrats were using the crisis “to turn America into a socialist country.”

Matt Gaetz: 

 “The Speaker’s comments reaffirm that Republicans are the party of working Americans while Democrats prefer diminished productivity.”

Lindsey Graham:

“The real stimulus that’s going to change the trajectory that we’re on is going to be the economy, not government checks. So I doubt there will be another payment.”

These quotes summarize how many Republicans feel about more payments going out to Americans during the pandemic. So as you can tell, Democrats are going to face a strong uphill battle to get any kind of proposed rounds of additional stimulus checks sent out. It’s not to say that it’s impossible, it’s just going to be quite the challenge.