by Mary Rose Corkery
A Hill-Harris X poll found 75% of voters said the $600 stimulus checks were “too little,” the Hill reported Monday.
The poll was done from Dec. 30 until Jan. 3 and 15% said the checks were the right amount while eight percent said the amount was excessive, according to The Hill. Most from political parties were in agreement that the $600 wasn’t enough, with 77% of Democrats and independents and 71% of Republicans in agreement.
“Voters across party affiliation and income levels are of a consistent view that $600 in COVID relief is too little and a strong majority agree with President Trump and the Democrats that $2,000 is an appropriate amount and more support is needed,” Dritan Nesho, CEO and chief pollster at HarrisX, said to Hill.TV, according to The Hill.
More than half, 57%, of voters said $2,000 checks would be “about the right amount” in the poll.
“This sentiment is a pressure point for Senate Republicans as the Biden administration takes office and could lead to another round of COVID relief and stimulus,” Nesho said to Hill. T.V., according to The Hill.
Congress voted by an overwhelming majority on Dec. 21 to pass the $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus package as well as the $1.4 trillion government spending bill. The package designates Americans making less than $75,000 a year would get $600 and couples earning less than $150,000 would receive $1,200 and $600 for every child, according to a summary.
The White House announced Dec. 27 that President Donald Trump signed the $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, which includes the $600 checks for qualified Americans.
The president said Dec. 22 he wouldn’t sign the bill as it was and urged Congressional lawmakers to increase the $600 checks to $2,000 during a video he tweeted. Trump urged for additional help to small businesses, “in particular, restaurants.”
Trump said the bill Congress passed included several “wasteful items,” foreign aid and environmental funding assistance included and called for them to be withdrawn from the bill during the video.
Trump’s call to increase the amount of the stimulus checks received bipartisan support. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a bill again that would’ve boosted the $600 stimulus checks to $2,000 in the COVID-19 aid package last week.
The poll was done with 3,787 registered voters and carried a 1.59 percentage point margin of error.
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Mary Rose Corkery is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
