President Donald J Trump again made it clear that he wants American taxpayers to receive their second round of direct-pay stimulus checks, even as Congress debates a coronavirus relief bill that excludes checks

"Right now, I would like to see more checks going to people than they are talking about," Trump told Fox News' Brian Kilmeade in a brief interview at the Army-Navy football game Saturday (December 12) in West Point, New York He said [If the Democrats really want to make a deal, they will make a deal," Trump also said

Democrats, Republicans, and the White House have been trying to reach a compromise on a second round of stimulus since May

All sides agree that more stimulus money is needed to boost the economy and help American citizens and businesses hit hard by the coronavirus blockade, but the stumbling block is in the details

Senate Republicans do not want to spend more than $1 trillion, but they do want liability protection for large and small businesses for COVID-19-related lawsuits, and Democrats oppose the measure

House Democrats want to send hundreds of billions of dollars to underfunded state and local governments, which Republicans oppose

The White House wants massive spending but wants liability protection without aid to local governments

Earlier this month, a group of centrist senators introduced a $908 billion bill that includes all of these provisions

The White House countered last week with a $916 billion bill The bill includes a $600 stimulus check, half of the amount paid to American taxpayers under last month's CARES Act

The bill also includes liability protection and some funding for state and local governments, but it does not resume supplemental federal unemployment benefits, which some economists argue are more important than the stimulus package

CNN reported yesterday (December 13) that centrist senators plan to split the $908 billion bill into two parts One would include the provisions everyone wants, and the other would include the contentious liability protection and local government aid The idea is to quickly pass the more desirable bill and give Americans the relief they are craving

If the second bill is rejected or remains in limbo, Congress could take up a second stimulus package of its own Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) introduced just such a bill last week The bill would send a check for $1,200 to all American taxpayers who received the first round of stimulus provided by the CARES Act in March

But it all depends on how adamant Congressional leaders are about passing their favorite provisions House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have so far opposed passing the stimulus package in installments

It is not certain that President Trump's words about including a second stimulus package will have any effect Previous presidential statements have not had a significant impact on stimulus negotiations, with the exception of one occasion when President Trump abruptly terminated negotiations and resumed them two days later However, President Trump seems to have a better understanding of what ordinary Americans want than do congressional leaders