Schumer vows $2,000 stimulus checks for Americans is 'one of the first things' Democrat-led Senate will do
CHUCK Schumer vowed that $2,000 stimulus checks for Americans will be "one of the first things" a Democrat-led Senate will do.
The minority leader made the comments as Americans eagerly await the results of the Georgia Senate runoff on Wednesday morning.
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"It’s one of the first things we want to do when our new senators are seated," Schumer said on Wednesday.
Earlier on in the day he hinted that more checks would roll in if the Democrats took the Senate.
"For too long, much-needed help has been stalled or diluted by a Republican-led Senate and President Trump," Schumer said.
"That will change with a Democratic Senate, Democratic House, and a Democratic President."
While $600 stimulus checks are already being distributed as part of a new Covid-19 relief package, many Americans say the amount is not enough.
However, lawmakers so far have been unsuccessful in approving more financial assistance or a third check, despite a House-passed bill that Trump supports.
President-elect Joe Biden has vowed to push a third stimulus check that would likely again gain the support of the Democrat-controlled House and also the Senate if Republicans lose the majority, Newsweek reported.
The Senate failed to approve $2,000 checks last week after the House passed a bill authorizing the payments.
The $600 checks are now starting to arrive into the bank accounts of millions of Americans.
At a campaign rally for the Georgia races on Monday, Biden spoke of the ramifications that vote could have on the possibility for $2,000 checks.
“If you send Jon [Ossoff] and the reverend [Raphael Warnock] to Washington, those $2,000 checks will go out the door, restoring hope and decency for so many people who are struggling right now,” Biden said.
“If you send Senators [David] Perdue and [Kelly] Loeffler back to Washington, those checks will never get there,” he said.
The two Democratic candidates, Ossoff and Warnock, have already voiced support for $2,000 stimulus checks.
While both Perdue and Loeffler have also supported $2,000 checks, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked an effort by Democrats, Trump and several GOP members to increase the recent $600 payments to $2,000.
Regardless of the outcome in Georgia, however, Biden will likely face a closely divided Senate that could make it difficult for him to govern.
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