The House of Representatives voted late on Dec. 28 to amend the COVID-19 relief bill to boost direct payments to Americans to $2,000 from $600. A two-thirds majority was required to pass the bill. It passed the Democratic-majority House in a 275–134 vote; the measure now heads to the Republican-majority Senate for consideration. The move comes after President Donald Trump used the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to increase the stimulus payment amount to $2,000 and remove what he called “wasteful spending” from the relief bill. “As President, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child,” Trump wrote in a White House statement late on Dec. 27. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 allows the president to make demands to Congress, although Congress ultimately decides whether they …