Senate Republicans have made it clear they will not pass the House‘s Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which only narrowly had enough support from House Democrats to pass Friday night. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was among the many Congressional Republicans to dismiss the package as dead on arrival. He called the $3 trillion package, which includes plans for a second stimulus payment, a “political statement.”
Rubio retweeted the Associated Press‘ story on the bill passing, which said the movie is “setting up clash” with the Senate and President Donald Trump. “No it doesn’t set up a ‘clash’ because what they passed wasn’t designed to become law, it was designed to be a poltical (sic) statement,” Rubio wrote. “If your (sic) really trying to pass a law you do it the way CARES ACT was done, by negotiating terms with leaders in both chambers & [White House].”
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Other Republicans raced to respond to the bills passage, and almost all of them voiced disapproval. “This $3 trillion spending package is a window into the souls of the radical House Democrats,” Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote. Sen. Ted Cruz called it a “monstrosity” and a “windfall for her radical liberal agenda, not relief for the workers, families, and job creators hurting from #COVID19.” Graham previously told reporters the bill was “dead on arrival” after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled it earlier in the week.
During a speech on the Senate floor Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the bill a “seasonal catalog of left-wing oddities” and criticized the House for not reconvening in the weeks leading up to the vote, notes ABC News. However, the Capitol attending physical told House leaders it was not a good idea to come back to Washington, D.C. while coronaivrus cases continue to rise there. This led the House to pass a measure allowing members to vote via proxy, where one member can vote for up to 10 other members who cannot physically be in Washington.
The 1,800-page HEROES Act includes another stimulus check. This would be a one-time payment of $1,200 for individuals and up to $6,000 per household. The biggest difference between this payment and the CARES Act payments already sent out, it would not exclude adult dependents, notes CNBC. It would also allow immigrants with taxpayer identification numbers (TINs) to receive payments as well. The bill also extends federal unemployment benefits worth $600 per week through January 2021.
Trump has voiced interest in either a second stimulus check or a payroll tax cut. On Thursday night, sources told CNBC the White House would consider another stimulus payment. “As President Trump has said, we are going to ensure that we take care of all Americans so that we emerge from this challenge healthy, stronger, and with economic prosperity, which is why the White House is focused on pro-growth, middle class tax and regulatory relief,” the White House told the outlet.
