U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) attends a confirmation hearing of Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., October 12, 2020.
Susan Walsh | Pool | Reuters
As questions loom on Capitol Hill over whether or not there will be second stimulus checks, one senator is introducing a bill to make those payments a reality.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said in an interview Wednesday that his plan for second checks includes $1,200 per individual, $2,400 per couple and $500 per child.
“The most important thing that Congress can do is send direct assistance checks to every working family who needs them,” he said.
Hawley said he will not be discouraged if Congress cannot come to a compromise on the ongoing coronavirus relief negotiations.
“If Congress cannot agree, I will go to the floor and ask for an up-or-down vote on direct assistance to families,” Hawley said.
Earlier this week, Hawley urged President Donald Trump to reject Covid legislation that did not include a second round of checks.
Washington lawmakers have been sparring this week over whether to include the direct payments in the next relief measure and how much those checks should be. The White House’s latest proposal calls for $600 checks per individual. Meanwhile, a bipartisan plan left those payments out.
Hawley’s plan for checks is intended to mirror the first payments sent out via the CARES Act this spring. “Every senator voted for it,” Hawley said of that legislation, and the president supports it.
Hawley currently serves on the Senate Committees on the Judiciary; Armed Services; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Small Business and Entrepreneurship; and the Special Committee on Aging.
Last week, President-elect Joe Biden said additional stimulus checks “may still be in play” in relief package negotiations.
“I think it would be better if they had the $1,200 [payments to families],” Biden said at a news conference.
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