One of Florida’s U.S. Senators wants President-elect Joe Biden to urge Congress to pass stimulus checks of $2,000 as soon as he takes the oath of office.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio sent a letter to Biden Wednesday urging him to take the action as one of his first orders of business after being inaugurated on January 20th.
“It would send a powerful message to the American people if, on the first day of your presidency, you called on the House and Senate to send you legislation to increase the direct economic impact payments to Americans struggling due to the pandemic from $600 to $2,000,” Rubio wrote.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
Biden has called for the direct payments to be increased to that amount after the second round of $600 payments were approved by Congress and President Donald Trump.
Democrats attempted to pass legislation calling for the increase two weeks ago, but were blocked by Republicans.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, who is expected to become Senate Majority Leader, has said it would be a “top priority” once the party takes control of the Senate after the swearing-in of Vice President Kamala Harris - who would serve as the tiebreaker with the Senate now split with 50 members voting with each party.
Local
Rubio voted to approve the Electoral College vote for Biden last week while Florida’s other Senator, Rick Scott, voted to object to the count.
