Senator Pat Toomey this week objected to pressure to pass legislation increasing the value of stimulus vouchers from $ 600 to $ 2,000.
Toomey (R-Pa.), Widely known as a budget and deficit hawk, on Tuesday repeatedly rejected attempts by President Trump, Democrats and some Republicans to increase direct payments.
“Blindly borrowing or printing another two-thirds of a trillion dollars so that we can send $ 2,000 to children, the deceased, and tens of millions of workers who haven’t missed a salary, such as federal and state workers, is not sound economic policy, nor is it something that I want to support, ”said Toomey, who will retire after his term of office expires in 2022, in a statement.
The Pennsylvania senator pledged not to “agree to a vote on that,” and also rejected allowing untargeted aid in a Tuesday tweet.
“Congress must continue to help workers who have lost their jobs,” he argued, calling the borrowing needed to pay for such an effort “a terrible policy.”
Toomey expressed opposition to the increased checks on CNN that afternoon, sticking to his position, explaining that he was against checks going to individuals who had not suffered any loss of income through this crisis.
“This makes no sense. We are in a very different place today than we were in March,” he countered.
Last Tuesday, the commander-in-chief labeled the bipartisan coronavirus bill a “shame” and called on Congress to change it.
The legislation, which was linked to a $ 1.4 trillion government funding bill, was passed by the House and Senate with a veto-right majority, but Trump argued that the package needed work.
Trump’s biggest complaint about the deal was the size of direct payments, and last week he called on Congress to change the bill to raise every check to $ 2,000 and cut billions of dollars in foreign aid.
He announced that he had signed the measure on Sunday, but warned he would ask for millions of dollars in expenses to be cut from the bill.
Since then, Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) And David Perdue (R-Ga.) In support of the $ checks 2,000.