McConnell rules out passing House bill on $2K relief payments

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.

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.

CORONAVIRUS IMPACT: ADDITIONAL COVERAGE
caq-desk.jpg
CAQ
Sean McCabe
August 17, 2020 12:05 PM

The campaign looks to recognize auditors through videos, blog posts and other stories in order to "put a face to the auditors who play a significant role in keeping the capital markets functioning."

1 Min Read

Sarahjane Sacchetti is a busy mother of two and the CEO of Cleo, a parenting benefits company. Prior to Cleo, Sarahjane helped build Collective Health as their CMO, and has helped launch and build several startups in a variety of industries, from adtech to social media to energy and enterprise technology. She recently spearheaded the Invest in Parents initiative, along with Paid Leave for the United States, The Mom Project and Happiest Baby, which aims to support, protect and invest in working parents during times of uncertainty.

pwc-germany.jpg
PwC
By Alice Gledhill
August 17, 2020 10:33 AM

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP expects the majority of its 22,000 U.K. staff to spend some of their time working remotely, even after the coronavirus crisis passes.

1 Min Read

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.

mcconnell-mitch-senate-mask-lights.jpg
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, center, wears a protective mask while walking through the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Ting Shen/Bloomberg

“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.