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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, doubled down on his opposition to $ 2,000 stimulus checks on Friday and Republicans again blocked last-resort efforts to endorse improved relief from the coronavirus.
McConnell dismissed the $ 2,000 checks as a “universal cash gift” and not as the right approach to provide targeted relief to those who need it most.
“A big part would be basically socialism for the rich people,” McConnell said in a New Year’s Day speech.
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Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Hesitated that Republicans are now concerned about “socialism for the rich” when he said they agreed to spending huge tax breaks for the rich. companies. For more effect, he brought poster-sized checks to the Senate floor showing the millions in tax rebates companies like Amazon, Chevron and Delta Airlines have received.
“That’s what socialism is for the rich,” Sanders said of corporate giveaways. “Socialism for the rich is not – in the midst of this terrible pandemic – to put a check for $ 2,000 in the hands of working families.”
“I see, if I may say so, a bit of hypocrisy here,” Sanders added.
Sanders, with the support of Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Tried to vote on the $ 2,000 check legislation Friday. He also called for a vote on a McConnell-backed plan that links $ 2,000 checks to election security and anti-Big Tech measures – two other priorities for President Trump.
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But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, opposed the request for a vote, on behalf of absent Senator Pat Toomey, R-Penn., Which effectively nullified the odds of the $ 2,000 checks passing. the Senate.
Time is running out for a vote since the current Congress ended on Sunday. Any pending bill would die and have to be reintroduced in the new session.
Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., spoke about the urgency of the issue in a speech on Friday before Republicans rejected his separate request for a vote.
“If the Senate does not act today, the $ 2,000 checks will not become law until the end of Congress and they will know that Leader McConnell and the Republican majority prevented them from getting the checks – plain and simple. “said Schumer. “This is the last chance.”
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Senator John Thune, RS.D., opposed Schumer’s demand for a vote on the $ 2,000 checks, arguing that sending checks to families with six figures and not affected by the pandemic n ‘is’ not financially responsible’.
“It is not meant to help those who need it most,” Thune said.
MCCONNELL STILL BLOCKS QUICK VOTE ON $ 2,000 STIMULUS CHECKS, SLAMS ‘SOCIALISM FOR THE RICH’
Congress has already passed checks for $ 600 as part of a larger $ 900 billion aid package. These checks are currently being distributed. While Trump signed the bipartisan legislation, he also demanded larger checks of $ 2,000. The House agreed by passing a stand-alone bill and sending it to the Senate, where it was blocked.
Hawley expressed frustration that a measure that would be passed by the Senate cannot even get a vote.
“It appears to be the Senate versus the United States of America,” Hawley said.
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