The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives approved a bill on Monday to increase to $ 2,000 the amount of direct payments included in the second economic relief package, which President Donald Trump signed Sunday after resisting. for almost a week.
Under the COVID-19 pandemic relief legislation passed by Congress on Monday and signed by the president yesterday, aid checks to eligible Americans are for $ 600.
The proposal to raise these direct payments to $ 2,000 came from Trump himself, who before signing the package spent days calling the amount insufficient and "a disgrace."
[When the $ 600 check will arrive, who qualifies, and what additional assistance does the relief package signed by Trump include]
Democrats in Washington said they agreed with the president to increase the payments from $ 600 to $ 2,000.
The US Congress reaches an agreement on a new economic package of 900,000 million dollars
Dec. 21, 202003: 09
However, prominent Republican leaders have consistently responded that that will not happen, so
the measure voted by the Lower House on Monday is expected to carry mere symbolic weight and die in the Senate.
Asked whether he supported the proposal to issue checks for $ 2,000 to Americans instead of $ 600, President-elect Joe Biden told reporters on Monday: "Yes."
The direct checks of $ 600, which are the ones that are sure at the moment, will benefit Americans who earn less than $ 75,000 a year.
A senior Treasury Department official told our sister network NBC News that they anticipate being able to begin
delivering payments as soon as the end of this week.
What will happen to the proposal in the Senate?
Following Republicans' refusal to support a larger check last week, Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Majority Leader in the Lower House, said: "This Thursday, on Christmas Eve morning,
House Republicans cruelly deprived the American people of the $ 2,000 the president agreed to support. "
What's included in the new Trump-approved COVID-19 financial aid package
Dec. 28, 202002: 10
"If the president is serious about the $ 2,000 checks, he should ask the Republicans in the House of Representatives to end his numbing," Pelosi added.
After refusing for almost a week, this Sunday Trump signed the expected relief package of $ 900,000 million, which includes the $ 600 check and other aid for the unemployed, small businesses affected by the financial blow of the pandemic, as well as federal financing for 2021.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had already predicted that the bill to increase checks would pass the House, but hinted that Senate Republicans would not pass it.
"Then I'll do my best to pass it in the Senate. No Democrat will oppose it.
Will the Senate Republicans do it?
" Schumer wondered.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican, welcomed Trump signing the bill Sunday night, but did not mention in his statement what his bench would vote for.
With information from NBC News.