By Bill Galluccio US-ECONOMY-BANK-RATE-POLITICS-STIMULUS The House of Representatives failed to advance a bill that would have provided a $2,000 direct payment to most Americans. Democrats introduced the measure on Thursday (December 24) morning and tried to pass it by a unanimous consent request. Republicans blocked the move, bucking President Donald Trump, who demanded Americans receive more than the $600 provided by the stimulus package that was passed earlier in the week. "I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000, or $4,000 for a couple," President Trump said on Tuesday (December 22). "I'm also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation, and to send me a suitable bill or else the next administration will have to deliver a package, and maybe that administration will be me."