House Republicans blocked Democrats’ attempt to meet President Donald Trump’s demand to pay most Americans $2,000 to help weather the coronavirus pandemic.
Republicans objected to the bill House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer sought to pass by unanimous consent Thursday to replace the $600 payments in the latest pandemic relief legislation with the $2,000 payments.
IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig expressed his appreciation to tax professionals Tuesday for their cooperation during the extended tax season that was prolonged by the novel coronavirus pandemic and pledged to deliver any future stimulus payments approved by Congress.
The Dallas bank set aside less in the second quarter for credit losses than analysts expected. Executives cited action in Texas and California to reverse reopenings and said they're still committed to the oil and gas business.
Ian Jeffrey is CEO and Co-Founder of Breathe Life, a software-as-a-service technology company whose platform helps insurance carriers digitize their offerings and reach, engage, and service clients more effectively across distribution channels. He is also an entrepreneur with 20 years' experience in Silicon Valley and Montreal and has served as an Advisor and Angel Investor to many early-stage startups.
“House and Senate Democrats have repeatedly fought for bigger checks for the American people, which House and Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected — first, during our negotiations when they said that they would not go above $600 and now, with this act of callousness on the Floor,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Thursday.
Democrats will try again with a roll call vote on a new bill Dec. 28, when the House also plans a vote to override Trump’s veto on the National Defense Authorization Act. Since current government spending runs out that day — and funds for the rest of the fiscal year are included in the virus relief bill Trump criticized and hasn’t signed -- the House could also pass another stopgap measure to avert a partial government shutdown.
Republicans on Thursday tried to seek unanimous consent on a measure to examine taxpayer money spent on foreign aid, but Democrats blocked that move. In his complaint Tuesday about Congress’s combined virus aid and government spending bill, Trump criticized federal resources spent on international programs, even though that spending was allocated as part of the bipartisan appropriations process.