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Headline Roundup December 31st, 2020

McConnell Says $2,000 Checks Have "No Realistic Path" to Quick Senate Passage

Summary from the AllSides News Team

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that proposed $2,000 stimulus checks have "no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate." He then introduced his own proposal, which would include the $2,000 checks but also repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and set up a committee to study election integrity. His comments cast doubt on the possibility of more valuable checks, which were recently suggested by President Donald Trump and pushed by Congressional Democrats. A round of $600 stimulus payments began Tuesday as part of the recently-passed $900 billion coronavirus relief package. Coverage from right-rated sources focused more on McConnell's reasons for rejecting the proposal, which include the notion that the larger checks actually benefit high-earning individuals disproportionately. Reports from left-rated outlets concentrated on the ongoing disagreement between Trump and McConnell, sometimes framing it as unnecessary political theater that delays much-needed virus relief for millions of people.

Featured Coverage of this Story

‘No Realistic Path’ for Quick Vote on $2,000 Stimulus Checks, McConnell Says
‘No Realistic Path’ for Quick Vote on $2,000 Stimulus Checks, McConnell Says

New York Times (News)

News

Senator Mitch McConnell effectively killed off any chance that Congress would increase stimulus checks to $2,000 before President Trump leaves office, saying there was “no realistic path” for the Senate to pass a stand-alone bill.

Mr. McConnell, the majority leader, insisted on Wednesday that lawmakers would only consider an omnibus bill that included the $2,000 checks and two other issues that Mr. Trump has demanded Congress address: investigating the integrity of the 2020 election and revoking legal protections for social media platforms. Democrats will not take up either matter, dooming...

Open on New York Times (News)
McConnell thwarts Trump bid for $2,000 coronavirus economic relief checks
News

U.S. Senate leader Mitch McConnell dealt a likely death blow on Wednesday to President Donald Trump’s bid to boost coronavirus aid to Americans, declining to schedule a swift Senate vote on a bill to raise relief checks to $2,000 from $600.

McConnell said on the Senate floor that a bill passed by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, which sought to meet fellow Republican Trump’s demands for bigger checks, “has no realistic path to quickly pass the Senate.”

McConnell, who controls the Senate’s agenda and opposes the increase in aid, had...

Open on Reuters
McConnell Criticizes $2,000 Stimulus Check Plan as Benefitting High-Earners
News

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said in a floor speech on Wednesday that Democrats’ attempts to pass a standalone bill to disburse $2,000 stimulus checks has “no realistic chance” of passage.

McConnell is planning to organize a vote on a bill that combines the $2,000 checks with provisions to set up an election fraud commission and a repeal of Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. All three proposals are supported by President Trump, but it is unlikely that they will pass the Senate as one bill.

...
Open on National Review (News)

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