The U.S. Senate and Congress will convene on Monday afternoon either to vote for the new stimulus bill or the new Supreme Court Justice. What is their top priority?

Senate and Congress
(Photo : Reutersconnect)

Reaching a deal for new stimulus payment has become more intense following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday. For the past weekends, different news outlets across the country uproar that it might affect the stimulus negotiation. 

The U.S. Senate and Congress are due to convene on Monday. The House mentioned earlier last week or before Justice Ginsburg died that they will unveil the details of the new stimulus this Monday afternoon and hopefully it will be supported by both chambers. 

However, the priority of both the Senate and Congress will be divided. They are either to vote for the replacement of the late Justice Ginsburg or to vote for the new stimulus that Congress has said they will unveil. Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer already said on Friday that they will not fill the seat until the election is done. 

This means that heated arguments are expected this Monday afternoon as the Senate and Congress convene. This also means that the talks for a new stimulus package might be delayed as both Chambers have different priorities. Senate wat to vote for the new Supreme Court Justice while Congress wants to vote for new stimulus. 

It can be recounted that there are still many provisions under the new stimulus where the top negotiators have disagreements. A couple of these are the amount for weekly unemployment benefits, direct stimulus payment, funding for schools, and more. 

Meanwhile, Pres Donald Trump is interested to give more relief aids to millions of Americans. Last month, he urged Congress to release the unspent $300 billion under the CARES Act 1 and send it to over 160 million Americans as stimulus checks.

Earlier this month, he also urged the Republicans to embrace a higher number or bigger amount of stimulus package to deliver what millions of Americans need. He said this after a bipartisan group who is disappointed to Pelosi drafted their own stimulus bill that worth roughly $1.5 trillion.

After the death of late Justice Ginsburg, part of the administration's priority is to have a new Supreme Court Justice and at the same time have a new stimulus bill approved before the election. However, Democrats want to focus alone on new stimulus. 

Despite the opposing views of the Republicans and Democrats, they have one common ground and that is to give a fresh round of $1,200 stimulus payment, $500 for dependent stimulus, and $2,400 for couples. This time they also want to make sure that the stimulus payment will reach wider recipients. 

The U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has already said that once Congress gives green light for a fresh round of stimulus checks, the IRS will immediately start sending the money within the week that it is signed into law by the President. 

Meanwhile, due to the tension within the rank of the Democrats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week that she is open for the idea to postpone the October recess until a stimulus deal is reached. 

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