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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that Senate Republicans “want another round of direct payments to help American families keep driving our national comeback .”
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There are a lot of points Democrats and Republicans disagree on when it comes to what should be included in the next stimulus package. But a second round of stimulus checks to struggling Americans is not one of them.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that Senate Republicans “want another round of direct payments to help American families keep driving our national comeback.”
McConnell also indicated that the stimulus package he has begun to draft with Republican colleagues and members of the Trump administration would focus on three things: education, jobs and healthcare.
Americans first began receiving stimulus checks amounting to $1,200 for individuals who earn up to $75,000 in mid-April as part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act. Married couples earning under $150,000 received $2,400.
Also see: Republicans will start work in Senate on $1 trillion coronavirus relief package, Mnuchin says
It’s unclear whether Republicans want to change the income thresholds for stimulus check eligibility or the amount of money paid out to individuals.
McConnell did, however, indicate two weeks ago that Republicans could want an annual income cutoff of $40,000 for the next round of stimulus checks. That would leave out some 20 million Americans who previously received stimulus checks under the CARES Act, according to calculations performed by Ernie Tedeschi, a former economic advisor to the Obama administration.
The $3 trillion stimulus package passed by House Democrats in mid-May, known as the HEROES Act, calls for another round of $1,200 stimulus checks and up to $6,000 per household.
President Donald Trump also said he is on board with a second round of direct stimulus payments in a Scripps interview last month. Key members of his administration have indicated that as well, as discussions between Democratic and Republican leaders took place Tuesday regarding the next stimulus package.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said earlier this month that she doesn’t think a $40,000 cutoff for stimulus checks is appropriate.
“I think there are many families depending on [the] size of family and so many different things, that the $40,000 would have to be explained, justified and the rest,” Pelosi said. “But I think families making over $40,000 probably need assistance.”
