Schumer Will Introduce “No PR” Legislation to Stop Trump from Placing Name on Stimulus Checks

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to introduce a provision known in Washington as the “No PR Act” in the next coronavirus stimulus package to bar President Donald Trump from placing his name on any additional stimulus checks. The legislation “would prohibit the use of federal dollars toward any material that promotes Trump or Vice President Mike Pence’s names or signatures,” according to Politico.

“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.”

“Delaying the release of stimulus checks so his signature could be added is a waste of time and money,” Schumer added.

The news comes after the Treasury Department made orders for the president’s name to appear on millions of stimulus checks sent out by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The checks––$1200 for qualifying adults and $500 for each child––are being mailed out as part of a landmark $2.2 trillion stimulus package passed last month. About 70 million Americans are expected to get checks.

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Last week, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin demanding information about the decision to put Trump’s name on stimulus checks.

“To set the record straight, I request details about how you made this decision to benefit the president politically, which may delay delivery of critical funds to millions of Americans struggling to pay the rent and put food on the table,” Wyden wrote. “If adding the signature was in fact your idea that information could have already been made available to Congress,”

“We did put the president’s name on the check. That was my idea,” Mnuchin, for his part, said in a CNN interview. “He is the president, and I think it’s a terrific symbol to the American public.”