Forbes reports Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is expected to introduce legislation when Congress returns from recess on July 20, including a new relief package for Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic. A second round of direct payments could be included, but the amount you’ll get may change.
A $3 trillion Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (“HEROES Act”), already passed by the Democrat-led House, would again distribute $1,200 per person, via paper checks, direct deposit or debit cards, to help Americans who’ve lost income due to Covid-19. People with taxable income under $75,000 (or $150,000 for couples filing jointly) would be eligible, similar to the first round, and dependents would also qualify for $1,200 this time, regardless of age.
However, McConnell has reportedly said new stimulus checks might only be available for those who make up to $40,000 a year. By comparison, Americans who earned up to $75,000 each received $1,200 in the first round of stimulus checks under the CARES Act passed in March, which also included $500 for each child under the age of 17.
Bloomberg reports a $40,000 cap isn’t likely to happen, and President Donald Trump has voiced support for stimulus checks with “larger numbers.” Some proposals have included as much as $2,000 per person.
“I support actually larger numbers than the Democrats, but it’s got to be done properly,” Trump told Fox Business earlier this month. “I want the money getting to people to be larger so they can spend it. I want the money to get there quickly and in a non-complicated fashion.”
According to Newsweek, though, the Trump administration is seeking to limit the stimulus package to $1 trillion and Republicans are concerned about the national debt, which has sharply risen from $22 trillion in February 2019 to more than $26 trillion this month.
“We shouldn’t lightly add more to the national debt, but I’m predicting that we will have one more rescue package, which we’ll begin to debate and discuss next week,” McConnell said Tuesday during a press conference in Kentucky.
Forbes reports the legislation, which will be the fifth Covid-19 recovery package, also likely won’t extend the $600 bonus for unemployment benefits -- viewed by many GOP members as a disincentive to return to work -- but is expected to include state and local aid, including financial support for schools to potentially reopen in the fall.
When Will I Get My Second Stimulus Check?
The Senate is back in session from July 20 to Aug. 7, and if both parties agree to a new stimulus package by then Americans could start seeing payments in late August or early fall. Forbes reports some lawmakers have maintained a wait-and-see approach on the economy and jobs reports, suggesting a bill might not be passed before Congress’ long summer recess -- and direct payments may not arrive until after September.“I think we’ve spent a massive amount of money, not all of it has even been spent yet... and I think we need to evaluate what we’ve done before we do anything else,” Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) recently said.
The good news is checks would likely be delivered faster this time after millions verified their information on the IRS “Get My Payment” site. The IRS recently said it has paid all eligible Americans that it had enough information on for checks from the first round, for a total of $267 billion.
The first round of payments took about a month to begin arriving in people’s bank accounts after Trump signed the CARES economic relief package in March.
How Much Would I Get?
Under the current HEROES Act, each American would receive $1,200; married couples would receive $2,400; and parents would receive $1,200 per child, regardless of the dependent’s age. A family of four would potentially receive $4,800.©2020 Syracuse Media Group, N.Y. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
