Update:

The House officially passed the bill increasing stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000. The bill passed in a 275 – 134 vote so it was over 2/3 which is needed to pass the bill at this point.

The bill will now head to the Senate where it is much less clear what will happen. It is expected that the bill will be voted on tomorrow in the Senate.

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Original article

In case you missed the news last night, President Trump signed the coronavirus stimulus and government funding package into law.

“Pelosi delayed and damaged the country for months, but @realDonaldTrump just signed COVID Relief into law,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, tweeted Sunday. 

“Paycheck Protection is renewed. Thousands of small businesses will be able to keep doors open and workers paid. Thank you, Mr. President, for putting people over politics.”

It was a move that came after many lawmakers were becoming very vocal about their desire to see the president quickly sign the bill into action and to deal with the stimulus check issue at a later time.

Reportedly, Trump made a deal with senators that if he signed the bill, they would commit to voting on increasing the stimulus checks from $600 payments to $2,000 payments.

Presumably, the president is working to persuade his Republican counterparts to support the increase in payments.

“Now, the President must immediately call on Congressional Republicans to end their obstruction and to join him and Democrats in support of our stand-alone legislation to increase direct payment checks to $2,000, which will be brought to the Floor tomorrow,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Sunday night.

“Every Republican vote against this bill is a vote to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny the American people the relief they need,” she added. 

This new stimulus increase to $2,000 is truly a standalone bill with no other provisions tied to it. It is only a few pages long and so this vote should be a very straightforward process when it happens today.

As far as how the votes will go, I don’t think anyone knows for sure what is going to happen but it seems that a lot of people still doubt there will be enough Republican votes for the increase.

Although some prominent GOP lawmakers have voiced support for the checks like Josh Hawley of Missouri and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a lot of Republicans have still remained silent.

Others have been explicit about their opposition to more checks like Senator Rand Paul whoo said most Americans didn’t need a stimulus check.

“I think giving money to people, though, who are already working—look, my kids are working and don’t need a check. They’re not rich, but they don’t need a check,” he said.

“And most working Americans don’t need a check right now.”

(Surveys indicate that most Americans state they do need these checks.)

Some also speculate that now that Trump signed the bill into law, Republicans will feel less pressure to vote for the booster checks.

That might hold true to some extent but there is also the opposing pressure coming from the Georgia runoff elections that many feel could be key to getting these checks passed.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated that no Democrats in the Senate will object.

“The House will pass a bill to give Americans $2,000 checks,” He said in a Sunday tweet. “Then I will move to pass it in the Senate. No Democrats will object. Will Senate Republicans?”

The stimulus bill will be voted on via a suspension measure which means that a 2/3 super majority vote will be needed.

The House will meet at 2 PM today and votes are expected to happen after 3 PM but I’m not sure what time the Senate is scheduled to vote. It could happen later today or perhaps tomorrow.

H/T

Related

Trump signs coronavirus stimulus bill

Stimulus benefits expire as huge vote approaches

More support growing for $2,000 stimulus checks

12/27/20 Update:

President Trump just signed the coronavirus relief and government funding bill.

This will allow major benefits like unemployment benefits to resume in a timely fashion and will avoid a government shut down.

The unemployment benefits which provide $300 and weekly benefits will be extended for 11 weeks through the middle of March.

There will be a small gap and benefits as CNN reports

those in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs will likely not receive a payment for the final week of the year. And the $300 federal enhancement may only last 10 weeks instead of 11 weeks for most folks. 

This proposal authorizes $600 stimulus checks but Trump said that he signed the bill only after he got a commitment for the Senate to consider increasing the checks from $600 to $2,000.

The Senate should be voting tomorrow on whether or not they will expand the direct payments.

So Trump signing this stimulus bill does not rule out the possibility of $2,000 stimulus checks — at least not for now.

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Both Republicans and Democrats are beginning to voice their opinions on the President’s decision to put off signing the latest coronavirus relief bill.

First, it’s worth noting that there are some lawmakers who do support the president’s decision and these include some key members within the GOP such as Lindsey Graham whoo wrote:

After spending some time with President @realDonaldTrump today, I am convinced he is more determined than ever to increase stimulus payments to $2000 per person and challenge Section 230 big tech liability protection.

Other members of the GOP have also expressed support

But there are also some prominent lawmakers who are insisting that the president sign the bill now.

Interestingly, some of them have remarked that there would still be a later possibility of delivering more aid, such as bigger stimulus checks.

That could mean that we could see more aid in 2021, perhaps even a third round of stimulus checks which is what Joe Biden has talked about.

Here are some comments going around:

“Sign the bill, get it done,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (a Republican) said.

“And then, if the president wants to push for more, let’s get that done too. Let’s work together in a bipartisan way. It’d be a great way for him to end the administration.”

“You can’t diddle around with the bill,” said U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“Sign the bill, Mr. President, and then immediately, Monday, Tuesday, we can pass a $2,000 direct payment to the working families of this country.”

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., agreed with the sentiment.

“You don’t get everything you want even if you’re president of the United States,” Toomey said.

“We’ve got a bill right now that his administration helped negotiate. I think we ought to get that done.”

“As he leaves office, I understand he wants to be remembered for advocating for big checks… But the danger is he’ll be remembered for chaos and misery and erratic behavior if he allows this to expire.”

Members of the bipartisan group that put together the proposal are even asking Trump to act quickly if he would like to veto the bill.

“We are asking you to please sign the emergency relief bill,” said the lawmakers.

“However, if your objection to the COVID-19 relief bill will prevent you from signing, please veto it immediately. You’ve made your position clear and rejecting it quickly will allow those in favor to act before it is too late.”

So there are lawmakers who are both for and against more stimulus checks that want President Trump to immediately sign the relief bill.

The comments from these prominent lawmakers show it’s pretty clear that there is some major mixed opinions within Congress.

Based on what I have seen and heard, it seems likely that lawmakers overall want Trump to sign this proposal into law as soon as possible so that certain types of benefits such as unemployment benefits can get out.

Then after that they can focus on whether or not bigger stimulus checks should go out.

That debate would likely not ignite until well after inauguration day and we could find ourselves going through this process for another couple of months as lawmakers struggle with the best way to relieve struggling Americans.

In the end, we won’t know what is happening until tomorrow when the vote takes place for the checks. If I had to guess, the vote will not pass the Senate but crazier things have happened.

H/T

Related

Stimulus benefits expire as huge vote approaches

More support growing for $2,000 stimulus checks

Third stimulus check coming in 2021?

One of the most important stimulus benefits that millions of Americans have relied upon to stay afloat during the pandemic expired overnight.

These are the unemployment benefits that went out to 12 million jobless Americans.

The current stimulus proposal extends these unemployment benefits out a few months and offers $300 in weekly bonus payments.

But we know that the stimulus bill is currently at a standstill as President Trump refuses to sign, largely due to his objection of the $600 stimulus payments.

Trump supports larger payments at $2,000 and Congress is scheduled to take a vote on these payments tomorrow.

Currently, we really don’t know what Congress is going to do when it comes to increasing the amount of stimulus checks.

I don’t think anybody will be surprised to see a bill pass the House of Representatives that increases direct payments from $600 to $2000. But what will happen in the Senate is a different story.

We’ve heard support for the increased stimulus checks from a few key Republican senators which is a sign that there is at least some support within the GOP.

But is there enough to get the minimum 60 votes needed to pass?

That is not so clear.

But what is clear is that there is a lot of pressure to get something done as soon as possible.

Now that unemployment benefits have expired, millions will be without much-needed aid. Also, the eviction moratorium is set to expire this week.

And then to top it all off, if the spending bill is not passed, the government will shut down 12:01 AM on Tuesday.

So the next couple of days are extremely crucial for millions of Americans and for the country as a whole.

If the Senate does not approve of these larger stimulus payments, President Trump could resort to a pocket veto which would essentially allow the stimulus proposal to die.

This will prove to be extremely unpopular and it could even affect the Georgia runoff happening in the first week of January to the detriment of Republicans.

So I would be very shocked if President Trump allowed the pocket veto to take place.

Therefore, I think Trump will take some type of action next week and we will see the proposal passed in some form by the end of the week. But as we all know, this is 2020 and anything could happen.

H/T

Related

More support growing for $2,000 stimulus checks

Third stimulus check coming in 2021?

Will lawmakers support $2,000 checks or will the proposal die?

Update:

President Trump has refused to sign the new stimulus bill and has expressed his support for larger $2,000 direct payments.

There are many Democrats on board with increased direct payments and there is even a vote scheduled for Monday for lawmakers to authorize the larger checks.

The big problem with the vote on Monday is that it is not expected that Republicans will get on board so that there are enough votes to pass $2,000 checks.

The Senate will need a minimum of 60 votes.

But there may be more Republican support than initially expected.

The latest Republican to get on board with Trump’s call for bigger checks is Senator Lindsey Graham.

Last night he tweeted:

After spending some time with President @realDonaldTrump today, I am convinced he is more determined than ever to increase stimulus payments to $2000 per person and challenge Section 230 big tech liability protection.

He also wrote:

Both are reasonable demands, and I hope Congress is listening. The biggest winner would be the American people.

The fact that a top Republican senator is calling $2,000 stimulus payments “reasonable” is pretty huge.

It’s also worth noting that the Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler (who is facing the runoff very soon) is also on board with these bigger checks.

These statements don’t mean that we will for sure see the new $2,000 check proposal pass but it is a good sign that there is some momentum growing within the GOP for these larger payments.

H/T

=====

Original Article

The progressive group in the House of Representatives known as the “squad” introduced their own bill for $2,000 stimulus checks or “survival checks” as they are calling them.

The squad bill was spearheaded by Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; and Pramila Jayapal D-Wash.

“This holiday season, families are being forced to make incredibly difficult decisions, such as whether they should keep their lights on or buy groceries,” Tlaib said.

“Providing $2,000 survival checks would give those struggling right now a lifeline as we continue to fight to defeat COVID-19. It’s time for Trump to stop bluffing and get the members of his party in line so that the government can provide this long-overdue relief to people across the country during this time of great need.”

Honestly, I think survival checks is a pretty fitting description for how many people feel about their need for the upcoming stimulus checks so I’m not even mad at that language.

Ayanna Pressley added: “We’ve been fighting all along for robust survival checks to help people meet their most basic needs, and the broad support that has emerged is a testament to the power of the people and the urgency of this moment. $2,000 in direct cash assistance will help families weather the crisis while we continue fighting for additional relief that meets the scale and scope of the hurt so many are feeling. Let’s get it done.”

This squad bill is distinct from the bill introduced by representative Richard Neal that changed the number of the coronavirus stimulus bill to $2,000 from the $600 current limitation.

This is a standalone bill.

So where do things currently stand?

Well, the nearly 6,000 page stimulus bill was flown down to Mar-a-Lago where Trump is spending Christmas for him to review.

Nobody really knows what Trump is going to do.

He still could let the legislation die by resorting to a rare pocket veto although it is not clear that that would be his preference given all of the backlash that could come from it.

I would imagine that Trump will want to wait until after Monday to take action, so the bigger question is what will happen with the vote on Monday for increased stimulus checks?

It’s very likely that this would pass the democrat controlled House but getting increased stimulus checks to pass through the Senate is an altogether different task.

It does not seem like a very likely outcome that’s for sure.

GOP members have already voiced opposition to this idea and they already shut down the vote that took place on Thursday for bigger checks (although that would have required unanimous votes).

Sen. Roy Blunt bluntly said, “I would be surprised if we dealt with” the $2,000 checks. 

In order for the checks to pass there would need to be a minimum of 60 votes in favor which may not be obtainable in this Senate.

However, stranger things have happened with these stimulus talks and this is 2020 so anything could happen.

H/T

Related

Will lawmakers support $2,000 checks or will the proposal die?

GOP rejects $2000 stimulus checks, another vote to happen on Monday

Vote for $2,000 stimulus checks happening tomorrow

We are currently awaiting the results of the vote on Monday that will give us a better picture of what to expect with the second round of stimulus checks.

The most likely outcome seems to be that $600 direct payments will be going out, likely beginning in early January.

But there is still the possibility that checks as high as $2,000 could be going out as that is the preferred amount for President Trump and a lot of Democrats.

We’ll see what happens next week with the votes but there are already talks about a third stimulus check with the Biden administration that is expected to take over in January.

Before Trump ever expressed his disdain for the $600 stimulus checks and the $900 billion proposal, President-elect Joe Biden had already committed to a third stimulus check for 2021.

“This bill is just the first step, a down payment, in addressing the crisis — crises, more than one — that we’re in,” Biden.

When questioned if a future package would contain a third stimulus check Biden said, “That’s a negotiating issue… But it will, yes, it will.”

What’s interesting is that a third stimulus check may not be needed if lawmakers are able to pass $2,000 payments for the second checks.

Based on comments we have heard, it seems extremely likely that there will be at least one additional stimulus package that is sent out after inauguration day.

But if the second round of checks is high enough, it’s possible that that package might focus on other benefits like aid to local and state governments and perhaps extensions of current benefits related to unemployment, student loans, coronavirus vaccines, etc.

This is one reason why I would not worry too much about $600 stimulus checks — it’s likely that if $600 checks go out now, we will see more go out later.

When it comes to checks going out next year, there are some IRS complications that could create some issues.

For that reason, some speculate that a third round of stimulus checks might be extra targeted to help people who need the aid the most or who were left out of the second round due to the IRS’ formula.

Of course, the other major factor is what happens with the Georgia runoff elections in the first week of January.

If Democrats were to take control of the Senate then that would essentially open up the floodgates for more stimulus relief and it would not be surprising to see if the stimulus checks go out.

If Republicans win the Senate, which I believe is still expected, then we could see another protracted battle over the contents of a stimulus relief package and it’s possible we might not even see another package to get passed.

It’s going to be an interesting winter.

H/T

Related

New $2,000 stimulus check proposal added by “the squad”

Will lawmakers support $2,000 checks or will the proposal die?

GOP rejects $2000 stimulus checks, another vote to happen on Monday

We now know that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is going to get the House to vote on $2,000 stimulus checks next Monday.

It’s probably the last opportunity that we might have to see stimulus checks go out in amounts over $600.

But not everybody thinks that this is a good idea.

Some lawmakers are worried that this will be opening up negotiations again in a way that could undo some of the progress that was extremely difficult to achieve in the first place.

“If you start opening part of the bill up, it’s hard to defend not opening the whole bill up,” said Sen. Roy Blunt.

“It took us a long time to get where we are. I think re-opening that bill would be a mistake.”

It’s very possible that this initiative could pass the House when the vote takes place on Monday but the Senate could be more doubtful.

In order to overcome a filibuster, the Senate will need to muster 60 votes in favor which may prove to be very difficult.

“I would be surprised if we dealt with it,” said Blunt.

The bipartisan group that put this package together is also asking for Trump to sign off on the bill.

“As members of the bipartisan, bicameral ‘908 Coalition,’ we urge the President to sign the COVID relief package. The legislation would bring desperately needed help to struggling families, unemployed workers, hard-hit small businesses, an overburdened health care system, stressed schools, and so many others. It would provide robust funding for testing and vaccine distribution at a critical time,” the lawmakers wrote.

“By signing the bill, the President would be providing the best possible Christmas gift to the American people,” they added.“

This is a pretty crazy time for Congress.

First, there is the government spending portion of the bill that has to be finalized to avoid a government shut down before Monday night.

That alone applies a lot more pressure to the entire situation.

Then there is the veto aspect.

Congress should have enough votes to easily override a presidential veto but Trump has the option to go to the “pocket veto” route.

Pocket vetoes are not common but in this situation the president could essentially just run out the clock by utilizing Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution.

By waiting until the current Congressional session ends at 11:59:59 am on January 3, this bill would essentially disappear.

That would prove to be wildly unpopular given the expiring benefits that this bill is meant to extend and not to mention all of the other aid that many people are waiting on.

It could also have consequences on the upcoming runoff election in Georgia.

But if Trump was truly unhappy with the contents of the stimulus and spending proposal, it is a route that could happen.

So next week will truly be a huge week, especially Monday when we will see what type of voting takes place for increased stimulus checks and whether or not the voting opens up Pandora’s box with respect to stimulus negotiations.

This could seriously backfire.

H/T

Related

GOP rejects $2000 stimulus checks, another vote to happen on Monday

Vote for $2,000 stimulus checks happening tomorrow

$2,000 stimulus checks still a possibility

President Trump was not happy with the latest stimulus proposal on multiple fronts.

One of his biggest objections was that the $600 stimulus checks were not big enough to meet the needs of Americans struggling due to the pandemic.

So he refused to sign the new funding bill into law and also called out lawmakers to pass $2,000 stimulus checks.

The Democrats listened and decided to hold a pro forma session today on Christmas Eve. (This is a brief meeting of the chamber where only a few members attend.)

Democrats wanted to approve the new changes by unanimous consent which means that the initiative can be blocked with only one person objecting.

Representative Steny Hoyer offered the proposal from the House floor and it did not take long for it to be blocked by House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Republicans also attempted to get Democrats to reconsider certain aspects of the proposal related to foreign aid but that was blocked by Democrats.

So does this mean that the push for $2,000 stimulus check is over?

Not quite.

It looks like things will head into next week as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would hold a full recorded vote on the proposal for $2,000 checks on Monday.

“If the President is serious about the $2,000 direct payments, he must call on House Republicans to end their obstruction,” Pelosi said.

At this point, it’s difficult to tell if there is a real possibility of $2,000 checks getting passed.

That’s because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and McCarthy (the top two Republicans in Congress), haven’t said much about Trump’s wish for bigger checks.

Some Republicans have come out in support of larger stimulus checks but it has hardly been a consensus among the GOP so something would have to give.

We know that some Republicans do not like the amount of foreign aid going out and perhaps that could be a trade-off for higher stimulus checks as the final negotiations take place.

I really hope that something does happen over the weekend because if not then will makers have essentially just wasted an extra week of time and have delayed much needed benefits I necessarily.

H/T

Related

Vote for $2,000 stimulus checks happening tomorrow

$2,000 stimulus checks still a possibility

Trump doesn’t sign stimulus bill, pushes for larger checks

Yesterday, President Trump voiced his displeasure with the new stimulus proposal and expressed that he wanted to see bigger stimulus checks go out valued at $2,000.

Democrats quickly pounced on this opportunity to try to renegotiate terms of the stimulus proposal and now they will be bringing forward a bill that would provide $2,000 for stimulus checks.

This bill will be voted on tomorrow and the Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will try to pass the bill by unanimous consent.

What does that mean practically speaking?

This means that only one Republican opposing the proposal needs to be present in order to block the bill from passing.

This is an interesting move.

Going the unanimous consent route will require Republicans to go on record for their opposition to the increased stimulus payments.

Not a lot of Republicans will want to be the person who denies the country larger stimulus checks.

And perhaps even more importantly, there is an extremely important runoff election in Georgia that is about to happen and this decision could have consequences that affect that election outcome.

If voters in Georgia get turned off by Republicans not pushing for bigger stimulus checks, the election could turn towards Democrats.

Reportedly, Republican lawmakers like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy do not believe that Pelosi will be able to obtain an unanimous consent vote.

So it appears likely that we will hear opposition from some Republicans tomorrow.

If that happens, the question is what will Trump do?

If he vetoes Congress can override the veto but they might be gone for Christmas to do that in a timely fashion.

Some of the key stimulus benefits like unemployment programs are set to expire the day after Christmas and could affect roughly 12,000,000 Americans.

So there will be some consequences to delaying a decision regarding the stimulus package.

However, I would assume that lawmakers would be able to quickly remedy the situation once they are able to override a possible veto.

But who knows — tomorrow will be a very interesting day.

H/T

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$2,000 stimulus checks still a possibility

Trump doesn’t sign stimulus bill, pushes for larger checks

Senate passes stimulus package; Here’s what will be in it

Stimulus checks have been a bit of a wild card for this latest stimulus proposal.

Early on, there was a lot of talk about including them and even talk about increasing their amount and frequency to monthly recurring checks of $2,000.

Then there was talk about removing the stimulus checks from the package altogether only for them to come back into the discussion and appear in the latest proposal at a reduced amount of $600 per person.

Throughout the entire negotiation process, President Trump has been pretty vocal about his support for large stimulus checks.

He repeatedly made remarks that he wanted them to be bigger and explicitly mentioned $2,000 checks on multiple occasions.

And now that the stimulus bill is coming down to his signature he is making a push for $2,000 stimulus checks.

But could this push really result in bigger checks?

It appears that there is still a chance.

Last night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged that they would bring the issue of increased stimulus checks to the floor by unanimous consent.

Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks. At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 — Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it!

Other Democrats also chimed in to support increasing the stimulus checks.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted:

We spent months trying to secure $2000 checks but Republicans blocked it Trump needs to sign the bill to help people and keep the government open and we’re glad to pass more aid Americans need Maybe Trump can finally make himself useful and get Republicans not to block it again

This puts Republicans like Mitch McConnell in a pretty awkward position.

Republican advisers had already requested for Trump to silence his support of larger stimulus checks because it would supposedly torpedo negotiations.

There may have been some truth to that but I truly believe that the main reason they did not want Trump supporting larger checks is because it could cause a rift within the Republican Party.

Now that negotiations on all of the other items are finalized, and the amount of the stimulus checks can be isolated apart from those, there is a much stronger argument that increasing these checks will not have an effect on the negotiations.

So it will just come down to how bad will not accepting larger stimulus checks make McConnell/Republicans look?

McConnell has been an adamant opponent of large stimulus checks for a long time and had a lot of Republican backing on that position. So if he were to give in now he would probably lose support from some key Republicans.

But if he refuses to go along with the request from President Trump then he has to answer to the American people.

And specifically, voters in Georgia who are heading to the polls in a couple of weeks for the extremely important runoff for Senate control.

So it will be interesting to see how he responds.

Keep in mind that while Trump has not signed this bill and if he were to veto the bill, Congress could still force it through by overriding his veto.

So this could be one final twist in the stimulus bill saga and if it were to happen I think it would be for the greater benefit of most Americans since many will only benefit so much from a $600 check.

H/T

Related

Trump doesn’t sign stimulus bill, pushes for larger checks

Senate passes stimulus package; Here’s what will be in it

Stimulus checks coming quick, here’s when they will arrive

Last night, both the Senate and House of Representatives passed the new coronavirus relief bill which is valued at approximately $1 trillion.

The new bill authorizes $600 stimulus checks to individuals under the same income threshold that was applied last spring.

But there are many in Washington who are still not thrilled with this new bill and believe that there should have been more relief.

In fact, President Trump falls into this crowd and his signature is the final step needed to pass this bill.

In a tweet this evening, he called the $900 billion bill an unsuitable “disgrace.”

He urged lawmakers to make a number of changes which included larger stimulus checks to individuals and families.

“I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000, or $4,000 for a couple,” Trump said in the video.

Interestingly, Trump did not threaten a veto.

It’s not clear if his resistance to the bill and call for an amendment will result in any changes.

If I had to guess, it will not.

That is largely because a lot of lawmakers are already eyeing an additional stimulus relief bill that would be signed into law in 2021. So they probably feel like the shortcomings of this bill can be addressed with another piece of legislation.

It has taken so much effort to get them to agree to this bill as it currently is agreed to that I don’t think lawmakers would be willing to go back to the negotiating table to a larger deal.

You can watch the video below to see his full statement.

pic.twitter.com/v9Rdjz6DNu

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2020

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Congress reaches deal on stimulus package!