ionigeria.com Nigerian Newspaper
The president expressed dismay with the $2.3 trillion package that Congress passed Monday, which includes $900 billion in coronavirus relief and $1.4 trillion to fund the government until October, conflating the two bills and saying the spending goals were misguided
“A few months ago, Congress started negotiations on a new package to get urgently needed help to the American people. It’s taken forever. However, the bill they are now planning to send back to my desk is much different than anticipated. It really is a disgrace,” Trump said in a video posted to Twitter.
“Despite all of this wasteful spending and much more, the $900 billion package provides hardworking taxpayers with only $600 each in relief payments, and not enough money is given to small businesses, and in particular restaurants, whose owners have suffered so grievously,” he added.
The bill includes special terms for restaurants and hotels to access larger loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, a move praised by the National Restaurant Association. It does not include the Restaurants Act, a bill the restaurant industry had pushed for earlier that would have set aside $120 billion in funds for restaurants or bars with fewer than 20 locations.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2020
Trump cited a slew of provisions from the government funding bill as wasteful add-ons to the COVID-19 package, including $85.5 million for assistance to Cambodia and $40 million for the Kennedy Center in Washington. He also falsely claimed that the bill provided more stimulus funds for noncitizens than citizens.
The COVID-19 relief bill prevented undocumented immigrants from receiving stimulus checks but did allow mixed-status households to receive the checks. In such households, only the citizen adult and the children would receive funds.
Trump did not explicitly threaten to veto the package, which passed both chambers with overwhelming, veto-proof majorities. If he vetoes or opts not to sign the bill by Monday at midnight, the government will shut down and several key unemployment benefits will expire.
The federal government is currently funded through Dec. 28 as part of a stopgap bill.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who spent months pushing for a larger COVID-19 relief bill in the face of GOP opposition, quickly responded to the tweet, saying she was in full support of increasing the size of the stimulus checks.
“Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks. At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 — Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it!” Pelosi tweeted.
