House passes $2,000 direct COVID-19 payments bill

The House passed a bill to bump the direct payments of survival checks to individuals in its COVID-19 relief bill from $600 to $2,000 in a 275-134 vote. The bill needed to get a 2/3rds vote in support in order to pass Monday under suspension of the rules. If it hadn’t passed, Democratic leadership would have had to send the bill through the Rules Committee and onto the floor under regular order, a process they were ready to take if necessary, but fortunately don’t have to now.

This puts more pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring the bill up in the Senate, sooner.