Politics

Pelosi Says $600 Bonuses For Working Families Struggling During The Pandemic Is ‘Significant’

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Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said that the $600 direct payment checks in the new stimulus package are “significant,” although she would have liked them to be larger.

“We also have in the legislation direct payments, which were not in the Republican bill, to America’s working families,” Pelosi said Monday. “I would have liked them to have been bigger, but they are significant. And they will be going out soon.”

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During a heated CNN interview in October, Pelosi slammed a $1.8 trillion stimulus package offered by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The stimulus package would have given direct payments of $1,200 to Americans. Democrats including California Rep. Ro Khanna and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang encouraged Pelosi to take the deal, the Washington Post reported.

“We represent these people, I have for over 30 years represented my constituents. I know what their needs are; I listen to them,” Pelosi told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, according to the Washington Post. “And their needs are not addressed in the president’s proposal. So when you say to me, ‘Why don’t you accept theirs’ — why don’t they accept ours?” (RELATED: Pelosi Claims ‘Faith-Oriented’ Lawmakers Say They ‘Don’t Believe In Science’)

The Speaker of the House said that the bill did not include enough money for child care, state and local aid, and unemployment insurance, the Post reported.

In a letter to fellow Democrats written after the $1.8 trillion package was proposed, Pelosi called the Trump administration’s stimulus proposal “grossly inadequate.”

Trump “has not taken the war against the virus seriously, personally or nationally,” Pelosi said according to NBC News. “This attitude is reflected in the grossly inadequate response we finally received from the administration on Saturday.”

“It is hard to understand who is shaping their approach, which to date has been a miserable and deadly failure,” Pelosi continued. “Until these serious issues are resolved, we remain at an impasse.” (RELATED: Nancy Pelosi Warns Stimulus Disputes Could Extend To Past Christmas)

Congress announced a $900 billion coronavirus spending package Sunday night and a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill to provide government funding through September 2021 and to provide economic relief for Americans struggling during the pandemic. Individuals making $75,000 a year or less will receive a direct payment of $600, and couples making $150,000 a year or less will receive $1,200 plus $600 per child.

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders led a bipartisan group of lawmakers who pushed for $1,200 payments, but it was ultimately blocked by Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, who expressed concern about the national debt and the size of the stimulus package.

$300 per week will be given to unemployed workers through March 14, and benefits will also be given to self-employed or gig workers. The bill also includes a $284 billion Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses, $45 billion for transportation, $69 billion for coronavirus testing, tracing, and vaccines, $82 billion for schools and colleges, nutrition and agricultural assistance, $25 billion in rent assistance, and additional benefits.