Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is proposing a bill that would stop President Donald Trump from putting his name on stimulus checks.
The bill that will be introduced is called the “No PR Act,” according to Politico. Schumer is hoping to block federal funds from being used to promote and print the president or Vice President Mike Pence’s names or signatures on all additional stimulus checks.
Schumer released a statement about the act explaining its purpose. With the general election just months away, the New York Democrat argues that the signatures are a form of “exploitation of taxpayer money for promotional material that only benefits his re-election campaign.”
“President Trump, unfortunately, appears to see the pandemic as just another opportunity to promote his own political interests,” Schumer said in a statement. “The No PR Act puts an end to the president’s exploitation of taxpayer money for promotional material that only benefits his re-election campaign.”
After the U.S. Department of the Treasury ordered the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to have Trump’s name be printed on checks, it raised concerns about possibly delay many Americans would face in receiving checks by mail, but the Treasury Department claimed there would not be a delay.
Schumer went on to argue that the printed signature is a “waste of time and money.”
“Delaying the release of stimulus checks so his signature could be added is a waste of time and money,” Schumer said.
Like Schumer, others have also expressed similar sentiments arguing Trump’s request to have his name printed on checks is only for the purpose of “personal, political gain,” as Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) previously said.
A Secretary of the @USTreasury who permits this is a dangerous sycophant. This is using government as a propaganda tool. I would have resigned over the issue.https://t.co/PmMLrDwEoA
— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) April 15, 2020
In early April the president denied wanting his signature printed on stimulus checks.
Then, after the announcement was made, he has defended himself, saying, “I don’t imagine it’s a big deal. I’m sure people will be very happy to get a big, fat, beautiful check and my name is on it.”