Trump Demands Different Coronavirus Package
By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Washington was in turmoil late Tuesday after U.S. President Donald J. Trump threatened not to sign a coronavirus stimulus package saying struggling Americans deserve much better.
In a video message, he condemned spending in the bill on other countries and extensive cultural projects, arguing that the money should go to Americans in need. “This bill contains $85.5 million for assistance to Cambodia, $134 million to Burma, $1.3 billion for Egypt and the Egyptian military, which will go out and buy almost exclusively Russian military equipment, $25 million for democracy and gender programs in Pakistan, $505 millions to Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.”
The president questioned why the Kennedy Center in Washington DC was to receive $40 million when it is not open, and more than $1 billion has been allocated to museums and galleries in the capital.
“I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000 or $4,000 for a couple,” he stressed. “I’m also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation and to send me a suitable bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package.”
It was not clear which “next administration” he referred to as he did far as refused to acknowledge Joe Biden as the declared president-elect amid allegations of voter fraud.
PELOSI HAPPY
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi welcomed the president’s initiative to raise the amount of the payments, saying there’s support for the measure in the Democratic-controlled House.
“Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks,” she responded in a message on social networking site Twitter. “At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 — Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent.”
But she did not address the president’s concerns about other items in the bill that was apparently on her party’s wishlist.
The relief package was part of a hard-fought compromise bill that includes $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies through September.
It also contains other end-of-session priorities such as money for cash-starved transit systems, an increase in food stamp benefits, and about $4 billion to help other nations provide a COVID-19 vaccine for their people.
Without the president’s signature or an alternative bill acceptable to Trump, the government faces a shutdown by the end of the month.
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