On Monday, after half a year of negotiations, Congress approved a $ 900 billion relief package that included a round of $ 600 stimulus checks.
Surprisingly, on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump posted video on Twitter suggesting that he would not sign the bill unless the stimulus check was increased from $ 600 to $ 2,000.
For months, Democrats sought
a second round of checks for at least $ 1,200
, but encountered opposition from Republicans, who reject a bill that exceeds $ 1 trillion.
President Trump's statement puts pressure on Republicans, as Democrats say they favor voting for a $ 2,000 check package.
Is there a chance that people won't get any checks before the end of the year?
President Trump has until December 28 to sign the relief package.
Although Republicans in Congress usually support the president, the bill could pass if it has a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate and House of Representatives.
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Dec. 22, 202002: 01
If not approved, the discussion and approval of a new project could be delayed for weeks, most likely until after the arrival of President-elect Joe Biden to the White House on January 20, 2021.
This could put the 803,000 people who currently depend on unemployment benefits, which end one day after Christmas, in greater trouble.
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Without the direct stimulus of $ 600, millions of Americans who already had aid would face great difficulty making it to the end of the year.
"
That's playing with people's feelings at Christmas time
, when there
should be peace and aromonía"
,
he said Wednesday by New York Democratic Rep Adriano Espaillat.
In that case, to remedy the situation, Congress could vote for a new bill on January 3, although negotiations on the stimulus check could again delay the vote indefinitely.
If the president vetoes the project, "things could really fall apart," analysts at the Heights Securities consultancy said.
Another government shutdown at the end of the year and in the midst of a pandemic?
Actually, Congress passed two things Monday within a single $ 2.3 trillion bill.
One part, 892,000 million dollars is funds destined to respond to the crisis that caused the pandemic, the rest is financing to keep the Government open until September 2021.
Now, both are in danger.
If the president does not sign the bill, parts of the government could shut down on Monday, amid the coronavirus pandemic, putting the distribution of vaccines at risk, a task that requires the coordination of multiple agencies.
Furthermore, if the government shutdown were to drag on for several weeks as it did in 2018, tens of thousands of federal employees could lose their pay, exacerbating the crisis that already exists.
Who would get the $ 600 check if the aid is approved?
The bill contemplates 600 dollars per adult and for each dependent child.
Married couples whose income is up to $ 150,000 would receive checks for 1,200.
Couples where one of the members is an immigrant without permanent residence would also receive the economic stimulus, unlike the first round of checks, where they were excluded.
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Dec. 21, 202002: 44
Social Security recipients would receive the check automatically, unlike the first round, in which it took weeks or months to receive direct payment.
The project also includes an extra $ 300 a week in unemployment benefits through March 14, 2021. The self-employed worker support and small business loan programs would also be extended.
Will there be a check for $ 2,000 coming this Christmas Eve?
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, assured that the check for 2,000 dollars could be approved "tomorrow", if the Republicans so desire, who have remained silent in the face of the pressure that is increasing.
Pelosi said the lower house
will meet on Christmas Eve
in a pro-forma session, which is described as a short period of time in which the House of Representatives or the Senate are technically in legislative session, but do not vote.
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During that session, Democrats hope that House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy will accept
Pelosi's
request
for unanimous consent
for the relief package with the $ 2,000 checks requested by Trump to go to Senate review.
It is enough for a single legislator to oppose the unanimous consent for the new bill to not be approved.
At least one Republican is expected to reject the request for unanimous consent, considering they blocked the $ 1,200 check proposals for months.
How long have the negotiations for the second round of aid take?
On May 29, after the passage of the 'HEROES Act' that allowed the delivery of checks for $ 1,200, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that new legislation would be passed in just a month.
A month later, the Senate introduced the 'HEALS Act', a relief package that provided support for small businesses and schools, as well as a new check and the extension of unemployment benefits.
However, in September, the Senate failed to gather the votes necessary to approve the bill.
Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a Congressional event in January. Getty Images
In October, President Trump requested via Twitter that his team end the negotiations and, hours later, demanded that Congress approve a bill that would include checks and small business grants, according to Business Insider.
That same month, the White House presented a plan with checks for $ 1,200, which Democrats rejected as very low, while Republicans considered it very high.
Is delivery of the check for $ 2,000 likely?
While Democrats support Trump's proposal, the Republican Party in the House and Senate has resisted, for months, a relief package that exceeds a trillion dollars.
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However, increasing the checks from $ 600 to $ 2,000 would, in turn, increase the total cost of the project by $ 385 billion.
Analysts believe that the current bill with bipartisan support, which provides for checks for $ 600 and could begin to Americans next week, is most likely to pass.
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Besides the amount of the check, what things did Trump criticize?
In the video released Tuesday, Trump criticizes that the relief package includes resources for issues other than the coronavirus, such as support for foreign countries and museums.
However, this is not unusual.
Twelve bills are united in a single package, known as an omnibus.
In the past, the president has signed similar packages.
According to CNN, the White House explicitly agreed with the omnibus.
Officials involved in the negotiations had full knowledge of everything within the package, which includes $ 1.37 billion for the construction of the border wall, according to Forbes.
With information from
The New York Times
,
CNN
,
Forbes
,
CBS News
,
Business Insider
