Internasional Kastra Jatim - McConnell blocks Senate Democrats' move to pass $2,000 coronavirus checks

Internasional Kastra Jatim - McConnell blocks Senate Democrats' move to pass $2,000 coronavirus checks

Internasional Kastra Jatim -  The majority leader teed up a bill to increase the payments, repeal liability protections for tech companies and create an election study commission — things Trump demanded. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday shot down a Democratic bid to answer President Donald Trump's call for increased direct coronavirus payments to Americans, but the measure's ultimate fate in the GOP-controlled chamber is unclear.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., moved to pass the bill by unanimous consent, which meant it would advance if no other senator objected. But McConnell quickly objected to the measure, which would have increased the size of the checks to $2,000 from $600.

Internasional Kastra Jatim - McConnell blocks Senate Democrats' move to pass $2,000 coronavirus checks

Internasional Kastra Jatim -  Democrats pushed for McConnell to hold a full vote on the measure as soon as possible, but McConnell was vague about his plans in remarks on the Senate floor. He noted that Trump, who had voiced his displeasure with the size of the direct checks in the Covid-19 relief bill passed last week, has called for more scrutiny of the 2020 election and stripping liability protections from major tech companies in addition to the increased payments for struggling Americans.

McConnell said all three are "important subjects," and "we will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus," but provided no further details. Combining those priorities into a legislative package could gain some GOP support but also lose Democrats, possibly making the ultimate passage of the increased direct payments more difficult.

Internasional Kastra Jatim - McConnell blocks Senate Democrats' move to pass $2,000 coronavirus checks

Internasional Kastra Jatim -  McConnell did just that by the end of the day, putting a bill on the Senate calendar that would increase the stimulus payments to $2000 as well as repeal Section 230 — the big tech protections — and create a bipartisan election commission.

Schumer noted that bill would have no chance of passing in the House and urged Republicans to pressure McConnell hold a vote on the measure passed by the House on Monday.

“Sen. McConnell knows how to make $2,000 survival checks reality and he knows how to kill them," Schumer said, adding, “Will Senate Republicans go along with Sen. McConnell’s cynical gambit or will they push him to give a vote on the standalone House-passed CASH Act?”

Internasional Kastra Jatim -  Responding earlier Tuesday to McConnell's blocking of the payments increase that Schumer tried to advance, Trump tweeted, "Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP. $600 IS NOT ENOUGH!"

Trump's support for the increased payments — which he pushed aggressively only after Congress passed a relief bill that included the $600 in direct checks that his administration had asked for — had gotten additional Republican senators to come out in favor of it.

Internasional Kastra Jatim -  GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who are locked in a tight election runoff battle with Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in Georgia that will determine control of the Senate, voiced support for the bill on Tuesday.

"President @realdonaldtrump is right — I support this push for $2,000 in direct relief for the American people," Perdue tweeted on Tuesday morning.

A full vote on the measure would force Republican senators to go on record about providing the direct aid to U.S. households just days before the special runoff elections in Georgia on Jan. 5.

After Schumer's bid failed, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he will try to force McConnell's hand by delaying a separate vote this week to override Trump's veto of the annual defense authorization bill — a move that potentially could keep Perdue and Loeffler in Washington rather than out campaigning. McConnell had said he planned to hold a vote on the veto override on Wednesday.

Internasional Kastra Jatim -  "Let me be clear: If Senator McConnell doesn’t agree to an up or down vote to provide the working people of our country a $2,000 direct payment, Congress will not be going home for New Year’s Eve," Sanders said in a statement Monday. "Let’s do our job."