Missouri’s Josh Hawley and Roy Blunt at odds over increasing direct COVID-19 payments
Missouri’s two Republican senators are on opposite sides of the debate about whether to increase the amount of direct aid to Americans as President Donald Trump has implored.
The Democratic-controlled U.S. House passed a bill Monday evening to increase the amount of upcoming stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 per person.
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, who has repeatedly pushed for an increase in direct aid, called Tuesday for the GOP-controlled Senate to quickly pass the bill and send it to the president’s desk.
“Working Americans have borne the brunt of this pandemic. They’ve been hammered, through no fault of their own. They deserve $2000 in #covid relief — a fraction of what the banks & big business got. Let’s vote now,” Hawley said on Twitter Tuesday morning.
The measure to increase direct aid is widely supported by Democrats, but only a handful of Senate Republicans have voiced support and it’s unclear whether enough Republicans will cross party lines in order to force a vote.
Hawley’s Missouri colleague, Sen. Roy Blunt, the No. 4 Republican in the Senate, does not support the increase, his office said Tuesday afternoon.
“Senator Blunt believes financial relief should be targeted toward people who have lost their jobs or lost income because of the pandemic. He does not support a blanket increase in direct payments that does not take those factors into account,” Blunt spokeswoman Katie Boyd said in an email.
Neither of Kansas’ GOP senators, Jerry Moran nor Pat Roberts, who is retiring at the end of the week, commented on whether they would support the measure.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, on Tuesday blocked an attempt by Senate Democrats to pass the bill.
The standoff comes as the Senate prepares to hold a vote to override Trump’s veto of a bill to fund the U.S. military and provide soldiers with a 3% pay raise.
Hawley said on Twitter Tuesday that he will not consent to holding an override vote until the Senate holds a vote on the bill to increase the level of stimulus aid to individuals. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, has made a similar pledge.
Hawley was among a handful of senators to vote against the defense funding bill earlier this month prior to Trump’s veto and he has partnered with Sanders in recent weeks on efforts to increase direct aid.
The stimulus bill has high stakes for Georgia GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue who are in the midst of runoff elections that will decide control of the Senate. Both Georgia senators said Tuesday they would support the bill following House passage.
McConnell has floated pairing the legislation with two of Trump’s other demands to repeal of a 1996 law that shields social media companies from liability and to investigate unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the presidential election.
Adding these measures to the direct payments bill would make it unpalatable to Democrats and put the Senate’s version in conflict with the House, which ensures the legislation fails to move forward before the current congressional session ends this weekend.
Trump has limited leverage over lawmakers to force a vote during the final weeks of his presidency.
President-elect Joe Biden supports the proposal to increase aid, but if it doesn’t pass during the current Congress Biden could have difficulty getting the Senate to pass the bill when he takes office in January unless Democrats win the races in Georgia.
This story was originally published December 29, 2020 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Missouri’s Josh Hawley and Roy Blunt at odds over increasing direct COVID-19 payments."
