Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), the United States House Ways and Means Committee chairman, stated on Sunday that the results of the Georgia runoff election would affect the $2,000 stimulus checks proposal courtesy of President Donald Trump and other officials.
Stimulus Checks and Georgia Runoffs
According to Neal regarding the timing of future legislation on direct payments, "I think it's more contingent upon what happens on Jan. 5," reported The Hill.
President Trump, a number of Republican lawmakers, and Democrats are pushing to bolster the $600 stimulus payments in a new COVID-19 relief law to $2,000. Last week, the House passed a bill to increase the stimulus payment to $2,000, with 44 Republicans joining the majority of Democrats in support of the measure.
Over three million people have cast their votes early in-person or by mail in the Georgia run-off elections, according to the United States Elections Project. The voting in Georgia closes at 7 PM ET on Tuesday, reported Yahoo News.
According to President-elect Joe Biden, "If you send Jon and the Reverend to Washington, those $2,000 checks will go out the door, restoring hope and decency and honor for so many people who are struggling right now. And if you send (Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler) back to Washington, those checks will never get there," Biden said. "It's just that simple. The power is literally in your hands," reported Gwinnett Daily Post.
Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler joined the incumbent president and Democrats in backing $2,000 direct payments last December. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) barred the effort, describing $2,000 stimulus checks "socialism for the rich."
Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff have publicly supported $2,000 direct payments.
On the eve of one of the United States' most significant elections in recent history, tens of millions of people across the nation are awaiting the result of Georgia's Senate runoffs. It is considered a tight contest to determine dominance over the upper chamber and with it the fate of a third stimulus check.
McConnell obstructed the train set forth by Trump, Democrats, and a handful of Republicans in Congress that would have increased the most recent stimulus check from a maximum of $600 to $2,000.
The prospect of the $2,000 payments was barred by Republicans in the Senate. Another payment is reportedly unlikely during the sitting president's term. This has numerous people interested if Biden will push for extra direct stimulus relief when he takes over the office.
Both of Georgia's Republican senators have expressed their support of Trump's demand that Congress increase the amount of the stimulus checks -- breaking with the party's traditional fiscal conservative stance merely one week out from the Peach State's dual runoff elections that will determine the party that governs the US Senate.
While the senators are standing steadfastly behind the president, which some think is the only way to win, others caution that their support for larger checks to United States citizens flies in the face of their conservative bona fides and could affect their chances on Election Day next week.
