Stimulus check update: Biden calls on Senate to urgently pass relief package and get $2,000 to Americans

JOE Biden has called on the Senate to urgently pass the relief package and get $2,000 to Americans.

The president's $1.9trillion Covid relief package, which included $1400 stimulus checks, made it through the lower chamber last week by 219-212 with every Republican and two Democrats voting against the measures.

It will now go to the Senate to be voted on, before going to Biden's desk for signing.

In a Tuesday afternoon tweet, the president called for the Senate to "finish the job."

"The fact is that $600 is not enough," Biden wrote. "The Senate needs to pass the American Rescue Plan and finish the job of delivering $2,000 in direct relief."

During a lunchtime call with the Senate the same day, Biden reportedly said they need to be united and pass the bill as soon as possible.

He reportedly added that the package is popular with the public and only controversial with those in the Capitol.

A group of Senate Democrats have called for recurring stimulus checks to be put in the Covid bill, saying families "deserve certainty" during the pandemic.

In a letter addressed to the president, the 10 senators – led by Oregon’s Ron Wyden – bid the administration to include repeat direct payments and automatic unemployment insurance extensions.

“This crisis is far from over, and families deserve certainty that they can put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads,” the lawmakers wrote.

“Families should not be at the mercy of constantly-shifting legislative timelines and ad hoc solutions.”

The senators who penned the letter said automatic unemployment insurance was a necessity in keeping those who had lost their jobs afloat, while direct payments were “crucial for supporting struggling families who aren’t reached by unemployment insurance”.

The two forms of payment together would help to keep millions of people above the poverty line, they wrote.

The senators did not name the size or frequency of the payments they were suggesting, nor the income eligibility level for payment recipients.

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