US President Donald Trump is refusing to sign the coronavirus ‘relief’ bill adopted by both houses of Congress, calling it a “disgrace” and demanding that direct payments be upped to $2,000 per individual from the current $600.
“Congress found plenty of money for foreign countries, lobbyists and special interests, while sending the bare minimum to the American people, who need it,” Trump said in a video address, tweeted from the White House on Tuesday evening.
“I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000, or $4,000 for a couple,” the president added, as well as “immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation.”
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The House and the Senate on Monday adopted the 5,593-page legislation that bundled together Covid-19 stimulus and relief with a 2021 omnibus spending bill. The mammoth law, which Trump noted “nobody in Congress has read because of its length and complexity,” was made public just hours before the vote. It passed with a 92-6 vote in the Senate and 359-53 in the House.
Critics across the political spectrum have slammed the “paltry” $600 one-time payment to individual Americans, the first since the $1,200 they received in April, after just a month of lockdowns imposed to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The $900 billion relief paled in comparison to the $1.4 trillion accompanying spending omnibus, which allocated billions to the US military, foreign aid, as well as a laundry list of pet causes and special interests.
If Congress doesn’t amend the bill, Trump said, “the next administration will have to deliver a covid relief package – and maybe that administration will be me, and we will get it done.”
While the mainstream media and the Electoral College have declared Democrat Joe Biden the winner of the November 3 presidential election, Trump has refused to concede and is alleging fraud, irregularities and misconduct in several key battleground states.
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