Pelosi sets up full floor vote on Monday to increase Americans' stimulus payments to $2000

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is planning a full floor vote on Monday regarding the increase of stimulus payments to Americans from $600 to $2,000 in the COVID-19 relief package. Earlier, President Donald Trump had called out politicians in both House and Senate for not passing a COVID package with bigger payments, particularly blaming Democrats for it. However, Pelosi alleged that it is the Republicans in both Houses of the US Congress, who refused to pass a COVID-19 relief package with stimulus payments of $2,000. 

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"House and Senate Democrats have repeatedly fought for bigger checks for the American people, which House and Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected – first, during our negotiations when they said that they would not go above $600 and now, with this act of callousness on the Floor. On Monday, I will bring the House back to the session where we will hold a recorded vote on our stand-alone bill to increase economic impact payments to $2,000. To vote against this bill is to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny them the relief they need," Pelosi said in a statement. 

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Trump plays Golf as bill hangs in balance

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday posted a video on Twitter criticising the $2.3 trillion bill passed by the US Congress, calling it a "disgrace". Trump was spotted playing golf at his Mar-a-Lago resort, while the fate of the bill hanged in balance. He did not mention whether he would veto the bill but said that Americans surely deserve more than the $600 check mentioned in the package. Trump left the White House on Thursday to celebrate Christmas in Florida and the bill has been flown to him to get his signature. It remains to be seen if Trump approves the bill before Monday, when the temporary funding bill expires, which is currently keeping the government running. If Trump does not sign the bill by Monday, the US government will go into another shutdown. 

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The legislation that includes the COVID relief package also consists of $1.4 trillion in government spending. If the bill is not passed the government would go into a shutdown, which had been halted after the US Congress passed a stopgap bill to negotiate further on the relief package. The negotiations over the COVID-19 relief package have been going on for months. the package would inject the much-needed $900 billion into the US economy. 

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