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Summary
- The House has voted in favour of increasing the stimulus checks to USD 2,000 from USD 600.
- The Bill will likely face opposition from the conservative members of the Senate.
- To reach the President's desk, it needs a 2/3rd majority in the Senate.
On 28 December 2020, the House voted in favour of an increase in the stimulus checks from USD 600 to USD 2,000. Two hundred and seventy-five members voted in approval of the bill, whereas 134 voted against it. Despite being cleared by the House of Representatives, the bill will reach the President's desk only after securing two-thirds majority in the Senate.
Image source: Shutterstock
The majority of Democrats voted to improve the stimulus package, and those against it were mostly the Republicans. The bill is expected to experience friction in the Senate from the fiscally conservative members. However, very few Senate Republicans, like Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Josh Hawley, have backed the new stimulus package proposal for Americans.
The Background
Last week, Trump released a video tweet saying that the USD 600 support was too less and urged Congress to increase the amount to USD 2,000 or USD 4,000 for a couple. Trump said the bill was unsuitable, and he was unhappy with such a moderate amount. He asserted that Congress took a long time to agree on the package, designed to influence the elections and advance its extreme left-wing agenda. However, the bill he said was much different than had been anticipated, and was indeed a disgrace.
Also read: Trump calls the 'Covid stimulus package' a disgrace, threatens not to sign it
Mr Trump also claimed that the bill with more than 5,000 pages was very lengthy and complicated and had nothing to do with COVID-19.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi had responded to the video content, alleging that Republicans were not communicating clearly on the amount President wanted for Americans' direct check. When the President mentioned it to increase to USD 2,000, she agreed with it and said Democrats are ready to go ahead with this amount in the coming week.
Despite raising strong objections and refusing to sign the bill, President signed the legislation for a USD 600 stimulus check on Sunday night.
A glance through the USD 900 stimulus package
The currently signed second stimulus deal is a part of an approximately USD 1 trillion US COVID-19 relief package. USD 600 is a stimulus check for the eligible Americans, whereas the further USD300 would continue the crucial jobless programs, improved unemployment insurance for 11 weeks, and food and rental assistance.
Must read: US Congress Strikes USD 900 Billion Stimulus Deal for Coronavirus
The bill is designed to provide direct payments of USD 600 per child as well as adults. Moreover, it has funds for aiding the SMEs sector, which is trying hard to recover from the unfavourable business conditions, induced by the ongoing pandemic.
The bill has come just in time before millions of Americans were set to be cut off from the jobless allowance program. Several lawmakers had already shown concerns over the amount being not enough to support Americans during the crisis.
