House GOP Blocks $2000 Stimulus Check Proposal

House GOP members blocked a proposal by Democrats to actualize President Donald Trump’s demand for $2000 stimulus checks. The $900 billion proposals passed Monday only set a one time $600 payment for Americans. Trump remarked that $600 represented a “ridiculously low” amount. Trump said he will veto the bill unless Congress increases the amount for the stimulus check. If Trump doesn’t sign the federal budget bill that included aid efforts, the government will shut down by December 29. 

RELATED: Trump Slams COVID-19 Relief Bill

House Pro Forma Session

Meanwhile, the majority of Democrats convened for a pro forma session Thursday. The short session featured Majority Leader Steny Hoyer requesting unanimous approval for the measure with a $2000 stimulus check. However, GOP House Minority Leader (Ca) Kevin McCarthy denied the motion. This ultimately killed the movement.  

Then, Representative Rob Wittman (R-Va) tried to reopen the debate on foreign aid that is part of a companion bill. The Democrats   In response to Hoyer, Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) tried to reopen the debate on foreign aid included in a companion bill, but that also failed. Wittman with a proposal to remove parts of the spending package that included foreign aid, an area Trump criticized as unnecessary for a pandemic bill. Ironically, these measures were mostly part of the President’s budget request and supported by Republicans. That Democrats rejected the effort.

Democrats Have ‘Selective Hearing’

Prior to the Thursday session, McCarthy called out the Democrats, saying they suffered from “selective hearing.” He said that they didn’t get the full list of what Trump said about increasing the amount of the stimulus check. He tweeted Wednesday that “Democrats appear to be suffering from selective hearing. They’ve conveniently ignored @realDonaldTrump’s call to reexamine tax dollars wasted overseas while so many Americans are struggling at home. Republicans will act to put America first.”

Along with the tweet, McCarthy also sent an open letter to House GOP members. He noted that the GOP tried passing coronavirus relief for more than 40 times this year. However,  Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked these efforts to play politics. 

Open Letter

In the open letter, McCarthy wrote “Americans have needed relief from the coronavirus and lockdowns for months. House Republicans have attempted to pass relief over forty times but each time, Speaker Pelosi has ignored our fellow citizens, saying ‘nothing is better than something. Worse than that, by waiting days before Christmas, Speaker Pelosi tried to use the American people as leverage to make coronavirus relief contingent on government funding — which includes billions of foreign aid at a time when there are urgent needs at home.”

“Our government’s top priority must be our families, communities, and small businesses as we get through this pandemic and restore our country,” he continued. “House Democrats appear to be suffering from selective hearing. They have conveniently ignored the concerns expressed by the President, and shared by our constituents, that we ought to reexamine how our tax dollars are spent overseas while so many of our neighbors at home are struggling to make ends meet. Thus, Republicans will offer a unanimous consent request to revisit the State and Foreign Operations title of the Omnibus so that we can fully address the concerns at hand,” he added.

Pelosi Calls For Trump To Break with GOP

Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Ca), responding to the GOP block, called on President Donald Trump to break with House Republicans and urge his party to “end their obstruction.” She said that efforts to get more money to Americans approved isn’t over yet. “On Monday, I will bring the House back to a session where we will hold a recorded vote on our standalone bill to increase economic impact payments to $2,000,” she said in a statement. “To vote against this bill is to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny them the relief they need.”She added, “Hopefully by then the President will have already signed the bipartisan and bicameral legislation to keep the government open and to deliver coronavirus relief,” she said.”

Democrats seized on Trump's objections to the bill in a bid to pressure Republicans to accept a proposed $2000 stimulus check. Trump’s statements backed them into a corner where they now need to decide whether or not to follow the President. “If the President is serious about the $2,000 direct payments, he must call on House Republicans to end their obstruction,” Pelosi said.

Watch the CNBC video reporting how House Republicans block Democrats’ attempt to pass $2,000 stimulus checks:

Who should back down on this stalemate to give Americans their much deserved $2000 stimulus checks? Is it the Democrats, who want a bigger stimulus check but won’t remove foreign aid? Or is it the Republicans, who refuse to follow the President’s own demand to issue a higher stimulus check? Let us know by sharing your thoughts in the comment section below.