Gov. Tom Wolf has been pushing for direct payments to working people as part of the latest federal relief package. He says that if the Republican-controlled Senate had listened to him and other Democratic governors, they could have saved millions of lives.
A stimulus payment is a direct deposit, generally for $1,000 or less, sent to working people who have lost their jobs. The idea is that the money will help low-income workers spend more and stimulate the economy, which in turn will lead to more hiring and economic growth.
Wolf wanted $2 billion in stimulus payments for workers in Pennsylvania, but he was among the governors who pushed for direct stimulus payments as part of this latest round of federal coronavirus relief. That effort failed when Republicans blocked it from moving forward in the Senate earlier this month.
Stimulus Check Finance Update
The Senate’s version of this bill includes some provisions aimed at helping laid off workers pay bills and buy groceries while they are looking for new jobs — but they are not true “stimulus payments.”
The Senate refused to pass the bill, which would have allowed Pennsylvania residents to receive their stimulus checks. Wolf said the Republican-controlled Senate had a chance to pass it and chose not to.
“This was an opportunity that should’ve been taken,” he said in an interview with PennLive on Wednesday. “We’re talking about $2 billion in checks going out early.”
Wolf also said this is something we could look back at as a learning experience for how government works at the national level as well as for him personally as governor — particularly in terms of how things like this will be handled under his administration moving forward.
The pandemic is not over.
Wolf said the pandemic has taken a toll on people’s lives, businesses and state budgets and the economy.
The administration failed to include funding for states in its original proposal, which would have provided $2 billion in additional funding for states to handle the costs of dealing with this crisis, he added.
