With Democrats on the cusp of controlling both houses of Congress and the presidency, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will prioritize additional coronavirus relief for working Americans, including $2,000 checks that were left out of the most recent stimulus.
Schumer took an optimistic tone this week, saying the new Democratic advantage in the Senate resulting from the addition of Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock “will be very good for the American people.” Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, as president of the Senate, will have tiebreaking power of the body that is split 50-50.
“Senate Democrats know America is hurting. Help is on the way, and we have two new senators coming to help,” the New York senator said Wednesday as he outlined Democratic plans to provide more pandemic support to families. “One of the first things that I want to do when our new senators are seated is deliver the $2,000 checks to the American families.”
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As the number of virus cases and deaths surge around the nation, impacting jobs and threatening livelihoods, Schumer echoed President-elect Joe Biden, who also indicated this week that $2,000 relief payments would be at the top of the agenda after the new members are sworn in.
“America is experiencing one of the greatest crises we have ever had in our history, and the Senate Democratic majority is committed to delivering the bold change and help that Americans need and demand,” Schumer said in a televised news conference after historic wins in the Georgia Senate runoffs by Democrats.
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The bipartisan $900 billion relief package passed by Congress and signed by the president approved only $600 payments that have already started to arrive for many people through direct deposit.
President Donald Trump initially threatened to veto the package unless lawmakers increased the second round of direct payments to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for couples, but he ultimately signed the bill as it was attached to a larger funding measure that would have otherwise shut down the government.
Late last year, House Republicans blocked Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s efforts to fast track the $2,000 checks as the president had called for. When the full House finally approved a measure for the $2,000 checks days before the new year, GOP Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shot down the proposal in the Senate.
“If the president is serious about the $2,000 direct payments, he must call on House Republicans to end their obstruction,” Pelosi said at the time.
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