Sen. Johnson Blocks Sen. Hawley’s $1,200 Stimulus Check Proposal: ‘Mortgaging Our Children’s Future’

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) on Friday blocked an effort by fellow Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) to pass legislation that would authorize $1,200 stimulus checks for most Americans.

“Certainly what the senator from Missouri is talking about in terms of these economic impact payments — no revisions at all, just spend another $275 billion, send it out to 150 million households when we are currently at about 9 million jobs less than we were in a record economy before the Covid recession?” Johnson said in a speech on the Senate floor.

Congress is seeking to pass a $900 billion coronavirus aid package that would include the checks, which have been championed by Hawley and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Certain federal funding is set to expire at midnight Friday unless a package is passed. Sanders and Hawley have promised to block any package that does not include the aid money.

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) said this week the payments were likely to be $600 to $700 per person, less than the $1,200 authorized in a $2.2 trillion stimulus package passed in March. Thursday reports indicated President Donald Trump had planned to seek payments of up to $2,000, but was dissuaded from that move by aides who said it could kill support for any deal in Congress.

“It’s beginning to reach the point of absurdity,” Hawley said in a speech responding to Johnson. “It’s time for leadership to put on the table what they’ve got, it’s time for them to brief members on what they’ve got. Here we are up against a deadline with a totally self-inflicted wound.

“I can’t think of anything nice to say so I’ll stop there,” he added.

Watch above via C-SPAN.