Washington, United States
Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Thursday blocked Democrats’ attempt to change the $ 900,000 million stimulus plan approved in Congress after US President Donald Trump threatened to block it if there are no changes.
Lawmakers met at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Goodnight, and unsuccessfully tried to push for a change to the bill passed by both houses on Monday.
Specifically, the Democrats wanted to increase the direct payments that millions of taxpayers will receive from $ 600 to $ 2,000 after that Trump demanded that increase Tuesday, in a request that breaks with his party’s position.
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Paradoxically, Trump and the Democrats agree to increase the direct payments that individuals with incomes less than $ 75,000 per year will receive; But the Republicans in Congress oppose that request because the party has traditionally advocated fiscal discipline and control of government spending.
Democrats have taken advantage of the division between the president and Republican leaders in Congress to call for more direct aid to Americans.
“Today, on Christmas Eve morning, the Republicans in the House of Representatives cruelly left the American people without the $ 2,000 the president wanted to support,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. Highest Democrat in Washington.
The rescue is part of a broader package of federal spending, known as omnibus, worth $ 2.3 trillion in total, of which 1.4 trillion will be for government funding through September 2021.
Congress has taken advantage of that spending proposal to include measures unrelated to the US economy, such as foreign aid to several countries, an issue on which the president has also expressed discomfort.
At Trump’s request, Republicans today tried to reduce the amount of foreign aid in the bill, but their efforts were blocked by Democrats.
It is not clear what next steps will be taken by the president and lawmakers of both parties after their proposals to change the stimulus plan failed today.
If Trump doesn’t sign the spending bill by the night of Monday the 28th, funds for the government will run out and it will be partially paralyzed from Tuesday the 29th, something that hasn’t happened in two years.
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Additionally, if the president doesn’t endorse the stimulus plan, the impact on life and the U.S. economy could be huge.
Unemployment benefits for 14 million Americans will end this Saturday and a rule that has prevented 30 million people from being deported will expire at the end of this month.