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.
Vinicius Alves de Melo is a Brazilian accountant with over 14 years of experience helping small and midsized businesses improve their tax compliance, financial structure and operational efficiency. He is the CEO of Carlos Contábil, where he leads consulting projects focused on identifying fiscal risks, correcting accounting inconsistencies and strengthening internal controls. His work is especially focused on small businesses operating in high-risk environments.
Andrea Ramirez is the senior director of the care team at Empathy, where she leads a dedicated group of professionals helping families navigate the challenges of bereavement. With a background in people operations and a commitment to compassionate leadership, Andrea is passionate about fostering work environments that prioritize well-being and empathy.
Matt Chisholm is senior vice president of business solutions at Commonwealth Financial Network, working to ensure that advisors have access to the consultants, programs and resources needed to build scalable, sustainable businesses. Previously, he was senior vice president of practice management and consulting at Fidelity Investments.
“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.