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Senate to vote on higher stimulus amounts



The Senate is expected to vote on new legislation this week following approval from the House of Representatives to raise stimulus payment amounts. Known as the CASH Act, the proposal seeks to increase payments from $600 to $2,000 for individuals.

One day after President Donald Trump signed a $900 billion stimulus bill into law, the House of Representatives voted to increase direct payments to most Americans from $600 to $2,000 per person.

The bill had wide Democratic support, but failed to capture a majority of Republicans. The bill passed with just over two thirds of the House voting in approval.

The vote won the Democratic caucus by a 231-2 margin, Republicans voted 44-130 and independents voted 0-2.

The legislation now goes to the US Senate, where its future is in question. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who largely controls what legislation gets to the floor, has been mum on whether he’ll allow the CASH Act to get a vote.

Some Republicans in the Senate appear ready to back the proposal.

“I share many of my colleagues’ concern about the long-term effects of additional spending, but we cannot ignore the fact that millions of working class families across the nation are still in dire need of relief,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said. “Congress should quickly pass legislation to increase direct payments to Americans to $2,000.”

Last week, Trump originally hinted he would not be supportive of signing the stimulus bill without changes. But with millions losing unemployment benefits and a number of hard-hit industries suffering, Trump signed the bill.