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When President Joe Biden announced his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill last week, the opening bid drew mostly positive reviews from progressive observers. But a handful of influential left-wing members of Congress, activists and commentators cried foul, arguing that Biden’s proposal failed to deliver on his promise to provide all lower- and middle-income households with $2,000 relief payments. **SNIP** In a note to a group of socialists, David Duhalde, a vice chair of the Democratic Socialists of America Fund, the DSA’s philanthropic arm, acknowledged the merit of the critique of Biden’s proposal before suggesting that an ill-fated battle to increase...

Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) joined far-left members of the “Squad” in demanding $2,000 direct checks for the American people, but took the request a step further, calling for the checks to be “monthly.” “We cannot afford to wait any longer. Let’s send out $2k monthly checks,” Khanna said Tuesday as Democrats continue to clamor over President-elect Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion spending plan, which includes $1,400 checks rather than $2,000:

President-elect Joe Biden plans to announce a $1,400 personal stimulus check for individuals on Thursday despite voters expecting a $2,000 check as promised. Reuters reports Biden will announce a massive $1.5 trillion spending program which will include $1,400 stimulus checks.

During a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) stated that “There is no other game in town” but the House bill to increase direct payments to $2,000, and that if the House bill is modified, it will not be able to become law before the end of this Congress because the House has already recessed.

Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) discussed why he is “strongly opposed” to increase the coronavirus stimulus checks to individuals from $600 to $2,000. Congress initially agreed on a $600 payout, but President Donald Trump has been fighting for the checks to be $2,000. Toomey said the economy “is in such a completely different place today” than in March when the CARES Act sent out $1,200 to individuals was passed. He noted that there was “33 percent economic growth in the third quarter,” so it is “not the same situation” as it was in the early stages...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blocked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s attempt to unanimously pass a bill to increase direct payments in the year-end coronavirus relief package to $2,000.The Kentucky Republican later Tuesday introduced a bill that would boost the size of the checks to $2,000 from $600, repeal Section 230 legal liability protections for internet platforms and create a commission to study election issues. The bill would meet all of President Donald Trump’s recent demands, which are unrelated, but would not get Democratic support and become law. Through the bill, Republicans would both avoid the act of...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday blocked an attempt by Democrats to set up a stand-alone vote on increasing the amount of recently passed stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000. Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) both tried to get consent for the Senate to bring up legislation that passed the House in a 273-134 vote on Monday. The GOP leader did not directly address why he objected, but under the Senate's rules any one senator can block efforts to set up votes or pass bills.

The 2021 omnibus bill sends coronavirus aid checks to “mixed-status” families that include illegal migrant spouses and Americans. The expansion was pushed by Democrats and some GOP legislators, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). CBS reported: Under the agreement, U.S. citizens and green card holders will be able to receive $600 in direct aid, even if they filed a joint tax return with an undocumented spouse, as well as additional $600 checks per dependent child, according to congressional aides and the text of the legislation.

​Millions of Americans who qualify for coronavirus relief funds could see payments as soon as next week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday. “The good news is this is a very, very fast way of getting money into the economy. Let me emphasize: People are going to see this money at the beginning of next week,” he said on CNBC. Mnuchin encouraged people who receive the payments — which could be as much as $600 — to spend the money and give the economy a much-needed boost.

After about eight months of gridlock, Democrats and Republicans in Congress are nearing a deal on more COVID-19 stimulus checks, small-business loans and unemployment insurance aid. The final details of the relief package are being haggled over ahead of a government funding deadline at midnight Friday, but negotiators have shared the broad outlines with reporters. The deal is expected to include direct checks of either $600 or $700 for most Americans, a $300 weekly unemployment supplement and a large amount of forgivable small-business loans.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration dove back into Capitol Hill’s confusing COVID-19 negotiations on Tuesday, offering a $916 billion package to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that would send a $600 direct payment to most Americans — but eliminate a $300 per week employment benefit favored by a bipartisan group of Senate negotiators.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she’s still hoping to clinch a massive coronavirus relief deal with the White House before the end of the year, despite predicting a sweeping Joe Biden victory next week that could deliver Democrats control of Washington in January. “I feel very confident that Joe Biden will be elected president on Tuesday,” Pelosi told reporters at her last weekly press conference before the Nov. 3 election. “We want to have as clean a slate as possible going into January.” Democrats have been unsuccessfully pushing a trillion-dollar-plus stimulus package for months. And while Pelosi has insisted she...

Andrew Yang has a message for all of the lawmakers who have still not been able to agree on another stimulus package. Yang, who recently campaigned to become the Democratic nominee for the presidency, urged politicians to pass an economic relief bill as "people are hurting" amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Lawmakers have been trying to agree on a stimulus package over the last several months. Still, Democrats and Republicans disagree on many aspects of the next bill, including the total price point.

As the nation has grappled with a global pandemic and images of some rioters causing damage after hijacking peaceful protests demanding racial justice, more and more Americans appear to be arming themselves. In July 2020, the FBI conducted more than 3.6 million firearm background checks, making it the third highest month on record for checks since the bureau began keeping statistics in 1998, according to new data released on Monday by the agency. By comparison, the bureau conducted just over 2 million checks in July 2019. Background checks associated with the sale, transfer or permitting of firearms set an all-time...

The Federal Trade Commission has warned that nursing homes in Iowa, as well as other states, have been coercing residents on Medicaid to hand over their coronavirus stimulus checks. “We’ve been hearing that some facilities are trying to take the stimulus payments intended for their residents on Medicaid," FTC Elder Justice Coordinator Lois Greisman said. "Then they’re requiring those people to sign over those funds to the facility.” “Why? Well, they’re claiming that, because the person is on Medicaid, the facility gets to keep the stimulus payment,” she continued in her consumer information blog post published May 15. “This is...

Christina Segundo is angry. She’s a U.S. citizen, raising four children in Fort Worth with her husband. Friends around her are receiving $1,200 or more under the government’s colossal stimulus effort. But Segundo gets nothing. She and her immigrant husband file taxes jointly and he uses a federal ITIN, an individual taxpayer identification number. Such couples have been surgically excluded from help. Potentially millions of U.S.citizens will get no federal stimulus assistance under the $2 trillion pandemic aid package because there are also unauthorized immigrants in their families: The CARES Act excludes unauthorized immigrants and most U.S. citizens or legal...

The IRS said over the weekend it has started sending coronavirus stimulus payment to eligible Americans who have direct deposit. “#IRS deposited the first Economic Impact Payments into taxpayers’ bank accounts today,” the IRS announced in a tweet Saturday. “We know many people are anxious to get their payments; we’ll continue issuing them as fast as we can.” The payments are part of the $2.2 trillion package passed by Congress at the end of March intended to help workers who have been laid off or furloughed and to give businesses a financial boost to offset the dire economic effects caused...

Link only - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/04/coronavirus-stimulus-outdated-technology-could-delay-checks-experts-say/5112012002/

Link only per restrictions. However, it is MSN so a free link.

The Treasury Department said late Wednesday that Social Security recipients who typically don't file tax returns will automatically receive their coronavirus relief checks and will not have to file tax returns to receive their payments