While Republicans, Democrats and the Trump administration haggle over the details of the next COVID-19 aid package, one sure thing appears to be another round of direct payments to Americans.
As millions await final decisions on enhanced unemployment benefits, small business loans, funds for state and local governments and schools potentially reopening in the fall, Americans are also curious whether stimulus checks — proposed by both Democrats and Republicans and backed by President Donald Trump in recent months — hang in the balance.
According to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the checks are still coming — it’s just a matter of time.
Mnuchin on Sunday told ABC News that “across both parties, there are different things that are very contentious,” but stimulus checks are not among them.
“There’s definitely areas of agreement,” he said, citing “enormous bipartisan support” for “checks in the mail.”
Mnuchin indicated a deal could come this upcoming week, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pushing for an agreement before a summer congressional recess that begins on Aug. 7.
CNET recently reported that if the president signs a new package by Aug. 10, the earliest the first checks would go out is likely the week of Aug. 24.
Mnuchin also noted that there was near-universal agreement on refreshing the Paycheck Protection Program, a small business loan initiative that helped many companies retain their workers and stay afloat.
Both the Democrats’ $3 trillion proposal in May and the recently-unveiled GOP $1 trillion plan include direct payments to tens of millions of Americans, similar to those offered in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which Trump signed in late March.
The latest GOP proposal is expected to provide $1,200 relief checks to single taxpayers who make up to $75,000 annually. Married taxpayers who file jointly and make up to $150,000 will also get $2,400 from the new stimulus package, with Americans’ incomes being determined by their 2019 or 2018 returns.
The new package would also provide $500 to taxpayers for each dependent, regardless of whether they are an adult or a child. The CARES Act previously only allowed the additional funds for dependents 17 years old and younger.
Trump has accused Democrats of “holding back to $1,200 to $3,400 (family of four) checks that were ready to be sent out!” He complained that Democrats continually push for nearly $1 trillion in state and local aid for “radical left governed states, most of which are doing very badly.”
In fact, the Democratic proposal includes $875 billion for municipal governments in states and communities across the nation, regardless of political affiliation of the municipal leaders. Democrats note that state and local governments have been forced to layoff more than 1.5 million public employees, including firefighters, teachers and health care workers, in the wake of unforeseen budget shortfalls due to the pandemic.
For more on the stimulus checks, read here.
McConnell recently told The Washington Post that “hopefully we can come together behind some package we can agree on in the next few weeks.”
Mnuchin said Sunday that the Trump administration will return to Capitol Hill “every day until we reach an agreement. We understand there’s a need to compromise, but there’s a big need to get kids back in school, people back to jobs and keep people safe.”
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