Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Sen. Bernie Sanders vowed to delay the passage of a defense bill should the Senate decide not to hold a vote on making $2,000 direct payments per person.
© Provided by Washington Examiner

President Trump vetoed the $740 billion defense package on Wednesday, and on Monday, the House voted to override that veto. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell aims to hold a vote to override on the Senate floor, but in order to skip the procedural waiting period, the consent of all senators is required.

Should Sanders choose to filibuster the vote, the Senate will be unable to vote on the matter until New Year's Day.

"Let me be clear," the independent senator from Vermont said in a Monday statement, "if Senator McConnell doesn't agree to an up or down vote to provide the working people of our country a $2,000 direct payment, Congress will not be going home for New Year's Eve. Let's do our job."

Sanders told Politico that he understood McConnell's desire to expedite the vote but added that he would not allow it until one was held on the direct payments, "no matter how long that takes."

Such a delay would likely complicate the campaign schedules of Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who both face Jan. 5 runoff elections in Georgia. Politico reported a source close to Sanders who said those races were a factor in his decision.

Voting to approve the payments would be an increase from the already agreed $600 in the COVID-19 relief bill signed by the president on Sunday.

Original Author: Haley Victory Smith

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