PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked the U.S. Senate from considering $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks for Americans.
The U.S. House voted Monday to boost the payments up from $600, which President Donald Trump has pushed for. As it stands, $600 checks are still guaranteed to qualifying Americans.
Many Republican senators, including Pennsylvania’s Pat Toomey, were hesitant to vote for the measure. They have concerns about excessive government spending, and they question the effectiveness of the measure.
"This money isn’t sitting on a shelf. We’re gonna print it or we’re gonna borrow it. And I think that the aid should be much, much more targeted," Toomey said on Fox News over the weekend. "It should be targeted to people who actually lost their job; small businesses that are actually in danger of going under."
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On the House floor, leading up to the vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi argued that, in a consumer economy, more money in people’s pockets will benefit everyone.
There was some Republican support in the House. Brian Fitzpatrick of Bucks County and Jeff Van Drew of South Jersey are among the 44 members who voted in favor.
Direct deposits of the $600 already promised may start going out to qualifying Americans within a week.