Yes, Sen. Bob Casey voted in favor of convicted felons receiving stimulus checks | VERIFY

PENNSYLVANIA, USA — A recent ad from a Republican political action committee called Senate Leadership Fund is digging into Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Bob Casey’s voting record.

"He made sure COVID relief checks could go to convicted felons," a voiceover in the ad states. "When reasonable people tried to stop murderers and rapists from getting checks, Casey voted to send them checks anyway."

So, let’s VERIFY using roll call voting results from the U.S. Senate.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 offered $1,400 stimulus checks to Americans during the pandemic with broad eligibility guidelines.

During debate on the Senate floor, Republicans introduced an amendment to the bill that would’ve barred convicted felons from receiving relief.

Casey and every other Democrat in the Senate voted against the measure, and it failed.

Casey then voted for the bill’s final passage in the Senate.

Both votes were split 50-to-49 on party lines.

So, we can VERIFY this claim is true.

During debate on the Senate floor at the time, Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin explained the reason many in his party opposed the amendment that would have prevented prisoners from receiving checks, saying "Given the stark racial disparities in our criminal justice system, this would cause the most harm to Black and brown families and communities already harmed by mass incarceration.”

It’s worth noting stimulus checks from the CARES Act, which was supported by many Republicans, also went to convicted felons in 2020 during the Trump Administration.

The IRS initially blocked those payments to prisoners, but a federal judge ruled they had to be distributed, finding nothing in the bill excluded convicted felons.