'Let's do it': Pelosi calls Trump's bluff on $2,000 stimulus checks
Category: News & Politics
Via: john-russell • 4 years ago • 22 commentsBy: susanferrechio (Washington Examiner)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded to President Trump's threat to veto a spending bill by agreeing with his call for $2,000 stimulus checks and offering to pass a measure this week in the House.
"Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks," Pelosi tweeted Tuesday night. "At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 — Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let's do it!"
Trump moments earlier appeared in the White House to announce he won't sign a massive coronavirus aid and fiscal 2021 spending package. Trump complained the bill did not include significant money for new stimulus checks and was chock-full of waste.
The measure now provides $600 checks for individuals and $1,200 for couples.
Trump called for checks providing $2,000 for individuals. He also told lawmakers to get rid of wasteful spending in the $2.4 trillion measure, which was nearly 6,000 pages long and passed hours after coming off the printers in the Capitol.
Trump did not indicate when he planned to veto the measure, which included all government funding for fiscal 2021.
A temporary government funding bill expires at midnight on Monday, so Congress would have to either override a Trump veto by that date or pass another stopgap bill to prevent a government shut down.
"I am asking Congress to amend this bill," Trump said Tuesday night. "Send me a suitable bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package."
Trump, who is contesting the decision by electors that Joe Biden won the presidency, said, "Maybe that administration will be me, and we will get it done."
If the bill does not become law by the start of the new Congress, it must be reintroduced and passed in both chambers by the newly sworn-in lawmakers.
House lawmakers left the Capitol for Christmas on Monday night. Pelosi can bring up legislation for a voice vote on the House floor, but anyone can object, which would then require a full vote of the House in order for it to pass.
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Funny that Trump didn't mention that if he doesn't sign it today, we are technically in a shutdown...
Let's do it. Can't make that much difference in the bottom line
and there's plenty of foreign aid that can be reduced across the board by some small percentage
to cover the difference between 600 & 2000 per adult, they can leave the kids at 600
Let's take it out of the school lunch program.
Let's eliminate all of the special interest tax relief "extensions" that were extended AGAIN in this latest OMNIBUS doonboggle.
Letting tax relief extensions expire is the same as raising taxes and NO ONE from either party or the WH will allow that on
their watch.
$104 billion this Omnibus/COVIS Bill round....enough to do $1,200.00 per person.
Ah... but not the"right" persons...
Serious money must be carefully guided into the correct pockets.
What boondoggle? Every Omnibus or rider has some corporate tax favors that were supposed to end years ago,
but because of lobbyists for special interests, like the NRA or Evinrude Johnson, Amazon etc., our brave
and collectively shitty Congress people grant a "tax extension" to avoid being accused of killing an industry or specific company with taxes.
Surely you agree that it's the perfect kind of pork to trim from the budget, right?
or are you actually in favor of Congress giving away 104 Billion of your money EVERY year?
Isn't that what you were complaining about?
C'mon mann, you know you want to agree, it isn't that hard...
They say the 600 dollar amount will cost 166 billion for everyone, including kids. So 2000 would be 2.33 times more, or 387 billion additional to the current total of the bill.
The IRS claims that the $1200 cost 218 billion so it looks to be closer to 363+ billion for the $2000.
Either way, they should do it...
The Trump years have added something like 6 trillion dollars to the national debt. What is 363 billion more in an economic crisis?
The difference is obvious! The six trillion were added by Republicans (and therefore acceptable). The 383 billion would be added by Democrats (and therefore totally unacceptable).
Really, John. You should know this!
No, we deduct the difference from all the extra foreign aid and special interest groups haul buried in the 5000 pages and cut the minors checks from 600 back to 500 and it can be done without adding to the overall cost in the original bill. Trump and AOC and Bernie are right about this, as is Sen. Loeffler who endorsed trading the extra foreign aid and pork for more benefits to all Americans.
I agree, but start with all of the tax relief extensions for special interests; that's 104 Billion plus the earmarked 166 Billion.
There isn't enough foreign aid in the Omnibus to cover half of that 113 Billion.
Oops.
Better look for more pork elsewhere.
.
Pelosi isn't calling anyone's bluff.
She obviously didn't comprehend Trump's message to remove the pork in the bill; and raise the per person payment to $2000.
Send the same bill back with with just raising the payment amount and it will be Vetoed again.
That pork is the only reason GOP lawmakers were willing to sign off on the bill.
Neither you nor Trump seem to know how this shit works. The House gets to pass what it wants and the Senate can Amend that or pass it as is.
This bill was NEGOTIATED between Mnuchin, McConnell and Pelosi. Trump has been busy having tantrums and golfing.
Oh and BTFW, when you listened to Trump whining about funding 'foreign countries', did you hear him say anything about the 500 million for Israel or the 700 million for Sudan or the 453 million for Ukraine?
Ya, me neither...
It hasn't been Vetoed in the first place.
Timing is everything. When does this bill actually get presented to the President? If he refuses to sign, it becomes law at the 10 day mark. (excluding Sundays). If he vetoes, the congress can override the veto, unless he dithers until January 2nd to veto, which effectively throws it into the new congress and a new bill must be hammered out.
I would bet he is lying about not signing the bill and is just politicking until it finally arrives on his desk. But who really knows.
Except that he can pocket veto it and it dies when the next congress is sworn in and that happens before 10 dsys. So him doing nothing kills the Bill without a formal veto.
The cat is out of the bag and the Republicans are looking ridiculous, for many reasons. Not least of which are the two Republican senate candidates in Georgia who are attached at the hip with Trump but now have to campaign on a bill that Trump has now ranted against.
The fact is the Democrats , in Georgia and elsewhere, were always in favor of a higher individual payment to Americans so they dont have to change , they simply have to say "let's do it". The Republicans have to explain why they wanted to squeeze the figure down to $600 so as to fit within the 900 billion dollar cap they had arbitrarily placed on the covid relief bill. They could have gone along with the 1200 initial proposal and people would have had the money weeks ago and Trump may have won the election because of it. But the GOP had to grinch it out, and originally they wanted to add no direct payment to Americans to the relief bill at all. It was only when Bernie Sanders and Josh Hawley started to cause trouble about it that even the 600 figure was added to the negotiations.
Now we see Trump completely exposing his parties position on helping Americans through tough times by showing them to be ridiculous cheapskates.
Now lets say Trump vetoes the bill because it doesnt have a 2000 dollar check for individuals in it. It would seem that Congress could override the veto, but would it be that simple? The Democrats would want the Trump 2000 dollar sum, and presumably the Republicans would want the 600 dollar sum. Would they meet in the middle ?
What was passed was a 2.3 trillion Omnibus bill, which included the 900 billion covid relief bill. Not sure how the 1.4 billion omnibus bill can be reduce like some are calling for in order to increase the 900 billion covid relief bill. I am probably missing something.