XinHua-Trump threatens to veto COVID-19 relief bill
Source: Xinhua| 2020-12-23 14:24:00|Editor: huaxia
WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at lawmakers over the newly approved 900-billion-U.S.-dollar COVID-19 relief package, threatening not to sign the bill if changes are not made to increase the amount of stimulus checks.
Noting that the negotiations have taken forever, the outgoing Republican president said in a video posted on Twitter that “the bill they are now planning to send back to my desk is much different than anticipated.”
“It really is a disgrace,” Trump said, arguing that the 5,000-plus-page bill contains many measures that almost have nothing to do with COVID-19, such as foreign assistance funds, funding for John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Smithsonian Institution.
The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate both approved the relief package late Monday, along with 1.4 trillion dollars in government funding for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, 2021, sending the giant spending bill to the president to sign into law.
The 900-billion-dollar relief plan includes another round of direct payments for individuals, federal unemployment benefits — both at reduced levels — and more funding for Paycheck Protection Program to support small businesses. It also features hundreds of billions more for schools, testing and the distribution of vaccines.
Accusing lawmakers of allowing “wasteful spending,” the president said the amount of direct payments to individuals is too low, and not enough money is given to small business, in particular restaurants.
CNN-Trump throws Covid relief bill in doubt by asking Congress to amend it
Updated 10:21 PM ET, Tue December 22, 2020
(CNN)-President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he is asking for changes to the coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress, leaving the future of the $900 billion stimulus in doubt.
Trump’s position could threaten to torpedo the carefully drafted bill, which his own administration helped negotiate — a move that could lead to a government shutdown and send the economy into a tailspin if he carried through with a veto.
“I’m asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2000 or $4000 per couple,” Trump said in a video released on Twitter. “I’m also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items in this legislation or to send me a suitable bill.”
The extraordinary message came after he largely left negotiations over the measure to lawmakers and his Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Trump did not explicitly threaten to veto the bill, but said he was dissatisfied with its final state.
What’s NEXT ? … just a break time…
De retour…
The New-York Times: Trump Demands Changes to Coronavirus Relief Bill, Calling It a ‘Disgrace’
By Luke Broadwater and Alan Rappeport
Dec. 22, 2020
The president sought bigger checks for Americans and a bill that dealt more specifically with pandemic relief.
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday evening threatened to derail months of bipartisan work in Congress to deliver $900 billion in coronavirus relief to a country battered by the pandemic, demanding checks to Americans that are more than three times as much as those in the bill, which he called a “disgrace.”
The president, who has been preoccupied with the baseless claim that the election was stolen from him, seized on congressional leaders’ decision to pass the relief bill by combining it with a broader spending plan to fund government operations and the military. That spending plan includes routine provisions like foreign aid and support for Washington institutions like the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian.
But Mr. Trump portrayed such spending items as “wasteful and unnecessary” additions to the coronavirus legislation.
“It’s called the Covid relief bill, but it has almost nothing to do with Covid,” Mr. Trump said in a video posted online. “Congress found plenty of money for foreign countries, lobbyists and special interests while sending the bare minimum to the American people.”
“I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000,” he added.
What the f…?
CNN-House fails to pass measure to increase stimulus checks to $2,000
By Suzanne Malveaux, Phil Mattingly and Clare Foran, CNN
Updated 10:12 AM ET, Thu December 24, 2020
(CNN)The House of Representatives on Thursday failed to advance a measure that would increase direct payments to Americans under a certain income level to $2,000 — up from the $600 level passed earlier this week — bringing lawmakers back to square one as they search for a way to appease President Donald Trump’s demands.
House Democrats tried to quickly pass the bill by a unanimous consent request Thursday morning, but Republicans rejected the move, leaving the future of the $900 billion stimulus package — and whether any changes will be added to it — in doubt. That stimulus package was attached to a spending bill for the entire federal government, and a deadline for government funding expires Monday at midnight.
Democrats will now move to pass the bill on the floor with a full up-or-down vote on December 28, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced.
“Hopefully by then the President will have already signed the bipartisan and bicameral legislation to keep government open and to deliver coronavirus relief,” Pelosi said in a statement.
CNN-Here’s what happens if Trump doesn’t sign the $900 billion relief package
By Tami Luhby, CNN
Updated 1:34 PM ET, Thu December 24, 2020
(CNN)Though Congress has passed a $900 billion Covid relief package, millions of Americans are in danger of losing important benefits just after the holidays if President Donald Trump continues to refuse to sign the bill.
The legislation would extend two pandemic unemployment programs and provide the jobless with a $300 weekly federal boost through mid-March. It would send direct payments of up $600 per person. It would reopen the Paycheck Protection Program so that some of the hardest-hit small businesses can apply for a second loan.
The package, which would be the second-largest relief deal after the $2 trillion CARES Act that Congress approved in March, also would extend eviction protection and enhance food stamp benefits.
Here’s what’s at risk if the bill isn’t signed:
. Expanded unemployment benefits
…
. Eviction protection
…
. Coronavirus relief funds for states
