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Dec 31, 2020 07:38 AM EST
Senator Mitch McConnell effectively renounced any change that Congress would increase the amount of stimulus checks to $2,000 prior to President Donald Trump s exit from office. He stated there was no realistic path for the Senate to pass a stand-alone bill.
McConnell Dashes Hopes For $2,000 COVID-19 Relief
Majority leader McConnell affirmed on Wednesday that lawmakers would merely consider an omnibus bill that involved the $2,000 checks and two other issues that President Trump has demanded Congress to address: probing into the integrity of the 2020 presidential election and invalidate legal protections for social media platforms.
The Senate Majority Leader turned down the push for the Senate to pass the said bill, remarking instead that the increased direct payments would remain associated with nixing legal protection for internet companies and developing a commission to evaluate election integrity.
McConnell again blocks $2K stimulus checks, says standalone bill has no realistic path Christal Hayes, USA TODAY
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell again blocked quick passage of a bill to increase coronavirus stimulus payments to $2,000, arguing the measure has no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate.
The Kentucky Republican said the only path forward is to combine the increased stimulus payments with two contentious policies that President Donald Trump also demanded Congress examine: Repealing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which allows certain legal protections for big tech companies, and establishing a commission to study the 2020 election after Trump s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.
McConnell objected to a request by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to unanimously pass the House bill, which passed that chamber earlier this week, that would increase the stimulus payments from $600 to $2,000. He objected to a similar request made by Schumer the day prior and instead introduced a bill that combined the three key policies, though a vote hasn t been officially scheduled on the proposal.
Senate Republicans had for months urged limiting the size of the aid payments, citing concerns about the national debt. Most Republicans appear to be opposed to increasing the size of the one-time payments but are coming at odds with direct demands from the leader of their party. 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.
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, pointedly broke with the president this week after Trump formally recognized Moroccan sovereignty in the Western Sahara Desert.Inhofe, who has long had ties with the West Sahara's Polisario Front liberation movement, was furious that.