President Donald Trump used the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 in a bid to increase the stimulus payment amount to $2,000 and remove “wasteful spending” from the relief bill.
Trump signed the relief bill, which was attached to an omnibus spending measure, on Sunday evening.
The president said he was not pleased with some of the spending measures included in the bill.
“As President, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child,” Trump added.
“I will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed. I will send back to Congress a redlined version, item by item, accompanied by the formal rescission request to Congress insisting that those funds be removed from the bill,” Trump added. “I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for [small business loans], return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more.”
The House is slated to vote on whether to include $2,000 stimulus payments on Monday, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
Both Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have said they support the $2,000 stimulus payments, while Schumer wrote on Twitter that no Democrats in the Senate oppose the measure. Several high-profile Senate Republicans have voiced their opposition to stimulus payments in general.
Pelosi, in a statement Sunday, said Trump should push GOP members of Congress to support the enlarged stimulus payments.
“Every Republican vote against this bill is a vote to deny the financial hardship that families face and to deny the American people the relief they need,” Pelosi added.
About a week ago, Trump voiced his opposition to the stimulus bill, saying it contains a number of non-pandemic-related provisions such as foreign aid to various countries, funding to the Kennedy Center and Smithsonian buildings, and funding to combat the invasive Asian carp fish species in the United States.