Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday closed off chances that the Senate would pass anytime soon a House bill that would give most Americans $2,000 stimulus payments.
The Kentucky Republican said the House legislation, approved in a bipartisan vote Monday, “has no realistic path” to quick passage in the Senate and that it falls short of the demands of President Donald Trump. He again blocked an attempt by Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to adopt the House bill to increase the payments to $2,000 from the $600 by unanimous consent.
Brendan Miller is a principal analyst at Forrester Researching, serving digital business professionals. His research focuses on retail digital transformation, consumer insights, payments, and eCommerce trends in the age of the customer. Brendan has specific expertise in helping retail leaders understand the opportunity derived from payments as well as the vendors that facilitate the delivery of leading digital experiences. His interests include emerging digital payments, rebuilding checkout experiences for our mobile world, retailer security and risk challenges, and insights into the state of the digital shopper.
Brendan’s research and analysis have been widely cited in publications including The New York Times, USA Today, Bloomberg, Fortune, Barron’s, CNBC, as well as NPR, The Los Angeles Times, and Financial Times.
Previous Work Experience
Prior to Forrester, Brendan spent 20 years as a B2C and B2B marketer, spanning technology, services, retail, CPG, and durable goods. Most recently, he led product marketing duties at payment firms, such as First Data, Mercury, and Vantiv. Prior to working in payments, he held B2C marketing leadership roles at Pulte Group and Graham Advertising (a leading automotive advertising agency), and he was also a managing director of a market research and strategy firm.
Education
Brendan holds a BBA in marketing/management from Northwood University in Midland, Michigan, as well as an MBA from the University of Denver, Daniels College of Business.
Dan Hanson is an insurance and risk management professional with Marsh & McLennan Agency.
Mark Monsees is a senior consultant at Samaha & Associates.
The Senate instead will work on combining the stimulus payments with measures on election integrity and rolling back social media liability protections, he said. That responds to all three issues Trump has said he wants, but a bill combining them likely will alienate enough senators in both parties to leave prospects for bigger stimulus payments dead in the Senate.
“The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of the Democrats’ rich friends who don’t need the help,” McConnell said. The House bill would raise the income cutoff to receive a payment.
The clash over the payments also is entangling another piece of year-end business in the Senate — a vote to override Trump’s veto of a crucial $740.5 billion defense policy bill. Senators Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey said they will continue to delay the defense legislation vote unless McConnell relents and allows a vote on a standalone bill on the bigger stimulus checks.
“We are saying to Mitch McConnell, to allow the United States Senate to do what it’s supposed to do, and that is the vote,” Sanders told reporters. “The House passed the bill, it’s over here right now. Do you want to vote against it? Then vote against it.”
Pennsylvania Republican Senator Pat Toomey later blocked an attempt by Sanders to call up the House bill for a roll call vote.