Monday, the United States House of Representatives voted 275-134 in favor of the Cash Act which looks to increase stimulus checks to the American people from $600 payments to $2,000.
The bill now faces an uncertain future as it moves to the Republican-controlled Senate where majority leader Mitch McConnell had previously refused to hold a vote on prior stimulus and relief packages for the American people.
Meanwhile, senate minority leader Chuck Schumer released a statement that read “following the strong bipartisan vote in the House, tomorrow I will move to pass the legislation in the Senate to quickly deliver Americans with $2,000 emergency checks.”
“Every Senate Democrat is for this much-needed increase in emergency financial relief, which can be approved tomorrow if no Republican blocks it—there is no good reason for Senate Republicans to stand in the way”. Schumer further added, “There’s strong support for these $2,000 emergency checks from every corner of the country,” he added. “Leader McConnell ought to make sure Senate Republicans do not stand in the way of helping to meet the needs of American workers and families who are crying out for help.”
Monday’s vote comes on the heels of Donald Trump criticizing the $600 direct check payments to the American people before signing the bill into law late Sunday evening.
Despite the GOP controlled senate’s anticipated opposition to the increase in payments, senate Democrats and those in favor of the Cash Act can still wield some leverage. Obviously whatever Republicans do from here on out could play a huge role in the Georgia runoff which will determine the power balance in the Senate. If McConnell brings the bill to a vote, Republicans will be put on record as to whether they support providing American’s with some much-needed relief in the middle of a once in a century pandemic.
In any sense, McConnell could essentially be forced to bring it to the vote with those Georgia runoff’s in mind considering not doing so could still very much negatively impact those elections and in turn, cost the Kentucky senator’s grasp on power.
Political Pawns
As Democrats seemingly look like the good guys and play on the idea that they’ve always been in favor of the $2,000 stimulus payments, I urge everyone to simply not fall for that bullshit. Nor should anyone fall for what Donald Trump and the GOP is trying to sell you in regard to the COVID relief.
In essence, both parties are playing the working class and poor in the Country as nothing more than political pawns.
For instance, if Republicans and especially Donald Trump actually cared about getting relief to Americans they would have approved the Heroes Act back in May. Likewise, if Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the corporate Democrats that make up the majority of the so-called “opposition party” they would have accepted the $1.8 trillion dollar stimulus deal offered by treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin just prior to the election.
The fact of the matter though whether it be the Heroes Act in May or Mnuchin’s offer in October, neither time was politically advantageous for the corporate stooges that make up the U.S. oligarchy. May was seemingly far enough out from the November election for the GOP to reject the Heroes Act and hope the public forgot about it come election time while the Mnuchin offer was too close to the election for Pelosi to essentially “give Trump a win”.
In the end, though, it’s the American people who are once again suffering the loss as the Government which presides over the most wealthy country in the World actually debates whether to give its people a $2,000 pandemic relief check for the first time since March.