Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denounced efforts to increase direct payments to $2,000 as "socialism for rich people." This set forth an incredulous reaction from Bernie Sanders as the GOP Senate continued to refuse to tackle the subject on Thursday.
$2000 Stimulus Checks are 'Socialism For the Rich'
In his second consecutive day of condemnation of the bill, McConnell blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi for engineering a bill that sends much funding to people who do not need the assistance.
This is McConnell's most direct comments to date on his resistance to President Donald Trump's appeal that stimulus checks should be bolstered from $600 in the recently passed stimulus.
According to McConnell, "The data show that many upper-middle class Americans have kept their job, work remotely and remain totally financially comfortable. On the other hand, some of our fellow citizens have had their entire existence is turned upside down and continue to suffer terribly," reported Fox 5.
"We do not need to let the speaker of the House do socialism for rich people in order to help those who need help," he added.
The barring ensures Congress would not be able to pass legislation increasing the size of the one-time payments, at least until a newly-inducted Congress convenes the following week.
The Kentucky Republican repeatedly lambasted Democrats for following President Trump's appeal for increasing the checks to $2,000 but ignoring his two other mandates: Assessing the president's allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election and repealing key legal protections for big tech firms.
McConnell's remarks come despite claims by the incumbent president and members of Congress that numerous Americans need the additional money to stay afloat in the next months.
McConnell also stated on the Senate floor, "Borrowing from our grandkids to do socialism for rich people is a terrible way to get help to families who actually need it," reported Fortune.
The contention in the US Senate over larger stimulus checks for Americans likely dooms the proposal until after President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January.
"Our duty, both to struggling Americans and to taxpayers, is to focus on targeted relief that will have the maximum impact and help people who need help the most," according to McConnell, reported Market Watch.
His concern is that a part of the $2,000 checks would be allocated to people who have not been hit financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The stimulus checks' supporters fired back, remarking that less than 1% of the stimulus payments would be allocated to the top 5% of United States citizens.
Congress is ending a tumultuous session, a two-year political contention that commenced with the longest federal government shutdown in the history of the United States, was severed by a pandemic and impeachment, and now concludes with a rare rebuff by Republicans of Trump.
GOP senators are ignoring Trump's demand to increase COVID-19 aid checks to $2,000 in his few days remaining in the office and are poised to override his veto of a major defense bill.
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