The Republican minority in the House of Representatives on Thursday blocked an attempt by Democrats to amend the relief plan negotiated by both parties and vetoed by President Donald Trump, who demanded an increase in the amount of aid.
After months of negotiations, the Democrats, who control the lower house, and the
Republicans, who dominate the Senate, they agreed on Monday for a $ 900 billion package to oxygenate an economy devastated by the covid-19-induced crisis, which destroyed millions of jobs.
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The agreement was reached at a key time, before December 26, when a series of extraordinary aids agreed upon in an aid package approved at the beginning of the pandemic expire, which frees many households from running out of income.
On Tuesday night, Trump surprised lawmakers by rejecting the agreement reached, which includes an extraordinary $ 600 grant for people in need, and demanding that it be increased to 2,000 per person.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, tried to approve this Thursday unanimously an increase in aid to $ 2,000, but the
Republicans blocked the initiative. “Today, on Christmas Eve, the
House Republicans cruelly deprived Americans of the $ 2,000 the president agreed to support, ”Pelosi said.
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Today, on Christmas Eve, the
House Republicans cruelly deprived Americans of the $ 2,000 the president agreed to support
The Democratic leader noted that if Trump is serious about his proposal, he must urge Republicans to stop the “obstruction.” Pelosi later reported that he had sent the law passed Monday to Trump, and urged him to sign it.
At the heart of the issue is the possibility that the president will not exercise the veto, but simply pass the deadline to sign it, which would make the law pass to the next legislature, which begins on January 3.
Meanwhile, during this Thursday’s session, Republicans tried to change the amount of foreign aid included in the budget package -another of Trump’s demands- and the opposition responded by blocking this proposal.
Faced with this maneuver, the leader of the Republican minority in the lower house accused Democrats of suffering from “selective hearing” problems. With that the session was adjourned and the House will not meet until Monday 28 December.
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Donald Trump had described the aid plan as a “shame.”
serious consequences
The two parties are facing off in the run-up to an extraordinary election in Georgia, On January 5, which will determine two seats in the Senate and will define who has control of the House.
Without maneuver time, with an economy in which the dismissals before the uncontrolled advance of covid-19 are accumulated, it is not clear what will be the next step of the Congress or the Executive, a few days before the inauguration of the next legislature on January 3 and less than a month before Democrat Joe Biden arrives at the White House.
Nearly 14 million unemployed Americans will run out of subsidies this weekend, in which in addition a moratorium for the evictions in the middle of boreal winter finalizes.
Lawmakers are also facing the threat that if the budget package is not approved, the government will run out of funding next Monday afternoon, a paralysis of funds that could force the administration to close activities and put its officials on unpaid leave.
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This closure comes at a time when the pandemic, which leaves more than 326,200 dead in the United States, more than in any other country, continues to advance on the eve of the New Year holidays. in which many displacements and a rise in infections are expected.
This would not be the first time in the Trump administration that negotiations with Congress have resulted in a budget paralysis, since in early 2019 a struggle with Congress for its determination to raise funds to build a wall on the border with Mexico resulted in a closure that lasted more than a month.
Despite threats looming over the U.S. economy, the New York Stock Exchange closed higher ahead of expectations generated by the start of covid-19 vaccination in the country.
AFP
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