Although even President Donald Trump has been pushing the idea of sending $2,000 relief checks to many Americans, many Congressional Republicans — including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — have refused to support the idea. Despite the restriction of the proposed relief checks to lower income levels, McConnell ludicrously suggested that the $2,000 checks could end up in “the hands of Democrats’ rich friends who don’t need the help,” no matter the untold numbers of Americans who have been struggling with basic expenses through the COVID-19 pandemic and could definitely use the assistance. On Thursday, as the Senate met on New Year’s Eve, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) tore into GOP excuses for refusing to back the $2,000 checks.
Schumer said, in part, as follows:
‘Funny — I don’t remember the Republican Leader and Senator Toomey complaining about how a $2 trillion, across-the-board corporate tax cut was “poorly targeted” because some large companies didn’t need the help. I hope that every American heard the objections by these Republican Senators. I hope every American who has their water or heat or electricity shut off; or had eviction notices stapled on top of one another to their door; or had to choose which meal to skip on a given day — I hope they all heard the reason they will not receive $2,000 checks is because Leader McConnell thinks it could wind up in the hands of “Democrats’ rich friends.”’
Going on, Schumer addressed McConnell’s insistence on combining a potential vote on $2,000 relief checks with a vote on issues of importance to the president including a hoped-for repeal of legal liability protections for social media companies and a Congressionally-backed investigation of some sort into the debunked claims of widespread, systematic election fraud. Schumer said that the Democrats in the Senate were willing to vote on these issues — if the chamber considered them one by one, thus allowing the $2,000 relief checks bill to stand for Senate consideration on its own.
Check out Schumer’s comments below:
In less than a week — on January 5 — Georgia voters will head to the polls for Election Day in that state’s ongoing Senate elections. Democratic victories in both of the state’s races would hand Democrats control of the Senate, because the chamber would be 50-50, but Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would be tasked with breaking any ties. Democratic control of the Senate could make enacting new relief significantly easier than at present.
