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Trump threatens to veto COVID-19 relief bill
From:Xinhua  |  2020-12-23 14:24

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at lawmakers over the newly approved 900-billion-U.S.-dollar COVID-19 relief package, threatening not to sign the bill if changes are not made to increase the amount of stimulus checks.

Noting that the negotiations have taken forever, the outgoing Republican president said in a video posted on Twitter that "the bill they are now planning to send back to my desk is much different than anticipated."

"It really is a disgrace," Trump said, arguing that the 5,000-plus-page bill contains many measures that almost have nothing to do with COVID-19, such as foreign assistance funds, funding for John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Smithsonian Institution.

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate both approved the relief package late Monday, along with 1.4 trillion dollars in government funding for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, 2021, sending the giant spending bill to the president to sign into law.

The 900-billion-dollar relief plan includes another round of direct payments for individuals, federal unemployment benefits -- both at reduced levels -- and more funding for Paycheck Protection Program to support small businesses. It also features hundreds of billions more for schools, testing and the distribution of vaccines.

Accusing lawmakers of allowing "wasteful spending," the president said the amount of direct payments to individuals is too low, and not enough money is given to small business, in particular restaurants.

Trump said he wants Congress to increase the amount in the stimulus checks to 2,000 dollars for individuals or 4,000 dollars for couples, calling the 600 dollars for individuals "ridiculously low." According to the current bill, a family of four would receive up to 2,400 dollars.

"I'm also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation, and to send me a suitable bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package," Trump said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, top Democrat in the lower chamber, retweeted the video and said Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the president wanted for direct checks.

"At last, the President has agreed to 2,000 dollars -- Democrats are ready to bring this to the floor this week by unanimous consent. Let's do it!" said Pelosi.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said shortly after the president's message that the relief package, "while imperfect," will save jobs and lives. "The sooner the bill becomes law -- the better," he tweeted.

Shortly after, Graham added that he appreciates the fact that Speaker Pelosi supports the president's idea to raise direct payments. "The American people are hurting and deserve relief. I know there is much bipartisan support for this idea. Let's go further," he said.

Even if a measure for larger direct payments could be approved in the Democrat-held House, it remains to be seen whether the Senate would give a greenlight to it. Some Senate Republicans have indicated reluctance to higher stimulus payments.

The Congressional approval of the relief measure came after Democratic and Republican lawmakers finally reached a deal on Sunday, following months of deadlock over the size and scope of the package.

"The two parties took so long to reach a deal because President Trump and Senate Majority Leader (Mitch) McConnell decided it would not help them to win the election to pass such a package, and House Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi decided she could wait for a meaningful size package," Adam Posen, president of Washington-based think tank Peterson Institute for International Economics, told Xinhua via email.

Bloomberg News reported that lawmakers were forced into action this month after six months of "fruitless, on-again, off-again negotiations."

With recent COVID-19 spikes, and a stalled recovery in the labor market, "the consequences of inaction became too great for either side to head home for the holidays without a deal," the report said.

For Democrats, the 900-billion relief package is much smaller than the 3.4-trillion proposal they passed in the House in May, and down from the 2.2-trillion trimmed version they offered in October.

Some Senate Republicans, however, insisted on a relief package below 1 trillion dollars, and had previously pushed for a 500-billion-dollar bill. Enditem

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