House Republicans blocked consent on $2,000 direct payments

The Democrats’ push to pass the bill came after President Trump raised objections to the $2.3 trillion must-pass legislation, complaining that the $600 direct payments to Americans included in the bill were too small.

House Republicans rejected an attempt by Democrats to pass a bill to raise direct payments to Americans to $2,000 from $600. The Democrat´spush to amend the $900 billion Covid relief bill came after President Trump demanded lawmakers increase the second round of stimulus checks.

A report from The Hill said that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) sought to pass a measure to boost the check size to $2,000 during the Christmas Eve session of the House by unanimous consent, while Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) sought to bring up a competing measure.

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Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), who was presiding over the House, shot down both requests. She said that under House guidelines, legislation can’t be considered by unanimous consent unless there is the approval of bipartisan House floor and committee leadership.

However, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement that the House on Monday would hold a recorded vote on legislation to increase the size of the checks in the relief package to $2,000.

To deny hardship

“On Monday, I will bring the House back to session where we will hold a recorded vote on our standalone bill to increase economic impact payments to $2,000,” Pelosi said in a statement. “To vote against this bill is to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny them the relief they need.”

As stated on a CNBC report, the pandemic recovery bill includes direct payments of up to $600 to eligible adults, plus $600 per child dependent.

While the adult benefit is half the size of the first stimulus check, the amount earmarked for qualifying dependents was raised by $100. At the full benefit amount, a family of four could potentially receive $2,400.

Those qualifying for the maximum stimulus payments include individuals earning up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income, or $112,500 as head of household and $150,000 as a married couple filing jointly.