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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers have two important issues to vote for this week, one, the expansion of the second COVID-19 stimulus to Americans and whether or not to veto President Donald Trump’s vote against the latest defense spending bill.
On Monday afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to approve an increase in the second round of COVID-19 stimulus checks for the American public.
The original amount of $600 was proposed in H.R. 9051, which was passed by Congress and approved by President Trump. Monday’s vote changed the amount to $2,000.
The bill passed with a 275-134 vote. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, continues to recover from a mild stroke and was listed as “not voting” on the webpage of the office of the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rep. John Curtis and Rep. Chris Stewart, both also R-Utah, voted “nay.” Utah’s lone Democratic representative, outgoing Rep. Ben McAdams, voted “yea.”
The measure now moves to the U.S. Senate, where its future is not yet clear. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, voted against the original package, which included a $600 stimulus for Americans.
Utah’s junior U.S. Senator, Mitt Romney, R-Utah,voted to approve the original stimulus package.
Last week, President Trump vetoed The National Defense Authorization Act despite strong GOP support for the bill. The $740 billion spending package funded military programs, construction projects, and a 3% pay raise for American troops.
But it did not include a change to Section 230 of federal law, which provides legal protection to American internet companies. Pres. Trump also did not approve of a provision that required the Pentagon to rename military facilities that were named after Confederate leaders.
On Monday the U.S. House of Representatives voted to override the presidential veto. By a vote of 322 to 87, the veto override passed overwhelmingly.
Again, Bishop was not in Washington because he is recovering from a mild stroke and he did not vote on the veto repeal.
Curtis, Stewart, and McAdams all voted “yea” on the override.