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Added on the 03/01/2021 18:46:03 - Copyright : Wochit
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is now backing $600 COVID-19 stimulus checks. What changed his mind? Business Insider reports that opposing stimulus checks was hurting them in Georgia, according to The New York Times. Citing a private call, the NY Times said McConnel described said Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue "getting hammered" on the issue. The Georgia runoffs on January 5 will decide the balance of power in the Senate. Checks of $1,200 were sent out earlier in the year. The checks dropped off the radar in the latest negotiations until coming roaring back this week.
The Washing Post is reporting that on Monday top Democrats approached the GOP's Mitch Connell with a secretive COVID-19 stimulus bill proposal. According to Business Insider the move came just before lawmakers unveiled a bipartisan $908 billion proposal. The new stimulus moderately increases proposed GOP spending. Speaker Pelosi said that the "private" proposal was also sent to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. On Tuesday, McConnell appeared to settle on a version close to the GOP's original demands for a small stimulus bill.
Despite US President Donald Trump's vocal push for a new COVID-19 stimulus package, it appears unlikely that one will come before Election Day. On Tuesday, Business Insider reports Trump signaled he wanted an ever-larger deal than the $2.2 trillion bill proposed by House Democrats. But according to Business Insider, Senate Republicans are skeptical that anything is going to happen anytime soon. It's getting to be toward the last minute. And the clock keeps ticking away. And I'm not optimistic about us doing anything. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL)Chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee Furthermore, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has pushed for a far slimmer package than Democrats and the president. The GOP has prioritized Supreme Court Justice confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett over economic relief for Americans. But on Tuesday, Trump phoned in to 'Fox and Friends' to say he wants a stimulus program even larger than the Democrats' proposed $2.2 trillion package.
President Donald Trump has changed his thinking, and now says he wants a big stimulus bill passed before the general election on November 3rd. Fed Chair Jay Powell also wants to see one passed and has warned that without one, the US economy's recovery will surely falter. But the Republican-led Senate hasn't passed a new coronavirus relief bill since April 21st, and shows little signs of doing so before the election. According to Business Insider, the GOP is far more concerned with getting the Supreme Court tilted to the right by having Amy Coney Barrett confirmed. For more than five months, Congress has held up a comprehensive stimulus package for tens of millions of Americans and left them in limbo. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants a so-called 'skinny' bill, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is holding out for far more for the American worker.