After blocking a move by Democrats to deliver $2,000 to millions of Americans struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday introduced his own bill, but included two poison pills Democrats are sure to hate.
The Kentucky Republican’s legislation calls for the repeal of Section 230, which grants liability protection to social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter, and creates the Election Assistance Commission, a congressional committee to investigate the integrity of U.S. elections.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called McConnell’s proposal a “cynical gambit.” The Senate is expected to take up the bill on Wednesday.
On Monday, in a 275-134 vote with 44 Republicans voting in favor, the House passed a bill to provide $2,000 to Americans. Americans making up to $75,000 would receive direct payments of $2,000 — an increase from the $600 checks in the coronavirus relief package approved by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on Sunday night.
While McConnell refused to call up the bill for a Senate vote, on Tuesday he signaled he might package the $2,000 checks with a repeal of a tech liability shield and an election-related investigation.
“The president highlighted three additional issues of national significance he would like to see Congress tackle together,” McConnell said. “Those are the three important subjects the president has linked together. This week the Senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus,” he added.
At least four Republican senators quickly expressed support for the House bill.