Getty Americans are waiting for COVID-19 second round stimulus checks to be approved.
President Donald Trump, in a tweet chastising Democrats, gave an expected range for the amount of second COVID-19 stimulus checks, saying he expects them to be $1,200 to $3,400.
“The Democrats are holding back the $1,200 to $3,400 (family of four) checks that were ready to be sent out!” Trump tweeted on July 31.
The Democrats are holding back the $1,200 to $3,400 (family of four) checks that were ready to be sent out!
Democrats, of course, have their own take on the situation. For example, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, blamed Republicans for not being able to unify their ranks regarding a second stimulus relief package, including stimulus checks.
“Sen. McConnell isn’t even in our negotiations with the White House because Senate Republicans don’t have a unified position on anything,” Schumer tweeted, referring to Mitch McConnell, the Majority leader in the GOP-controlled Senate. “The main thing we hear is that he’d torpedo relief for Americans unless there’s a giant corporate immunity provision attached. Unacceptable.”
Any stimulus check amounts, of course, need to get through the Senate. Trump doesn’t get a vote there, although he obviously has influence. There have been other indications that people might see more than $1,200 in the second round of COVID-19 stimulus checks based on Republican proposals in the U.S. Senate.
Here’s what you need to know:
A GOP Plan for Stimulus checks Would Extend to More Adult Dependents, Which Could Grow the Size of People’s Checks
GettyWill there be a second coronavirus stimulus check?
According to Fox Business, the main Republican plan, which still needs to come to a vote, would give many Americans another $1,200 check using almost the same guidelines as last time. Those earning under $75,000 would qualify for the $1,200, whereas those earning up to $99,000 would get gradually smaller amounts.
However, there’s one change that would mean many Americans would see more money than $1,200 in the second round of checks.
According to Fox Business, this time, families who have adult dependents (those over age 17) would get an extra $500 for each dependent. This would allow parents of adult college students, for example, to get the payment for each child, as long as they remain an adult dependent.
“A married couple with two children could receive up to $3,400,” Fox explained. That’s where Trump is getting the higher number from his tweet, as it referred to a family of four.
There was another big sign that a second round of stimulus checks could bring more money to people. President Donald Trump said in a recent interview in Texas that the checks might be “way higher” than the $1,200 sent out to many Americans last time.
The HEALS act, which is the name of Senate Republicans’ second stimulus relief proposal, would fix the fact that many college students, who were adult dependents, were left out of the first round of stimulus checks. It “includes just a few people that were unintentionally left out of the last one. Mostly dependents, college and adults, that are somebody else’s dependents,” Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said on July 27.
In the GOP plan, “a dependent of any age” would qualify a person for the extra $500.
According to CJNet, in the first round of checks, “the cutoff to receive a $500 dependent check was age 16 and younger and college students under 24 were not eligible to receive a check.”
Another Plan Would Give All Dependents Checks
Trump was citing numbers from the main GOP proposal. It’s not the only plan on the table, though.
A counter proposal by a group of Senators would send Americans $1,000 checks, according to a press release sent out by the GOP senators. Thus, the final amount is going to depend on how negotiations turn out in the Republican controlled Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently said that could take weeks to unfold, not days, which could push a second stimulus check into September.
Here’s the thing about the counter proposal, though; if that plan were adopted, some Americans who received nothing last time would get checks. The $1,000 checks would go to Americans “regardless of age or dependent status.”
“The Coronavirus Assistance for American Families Act would provide payments of $1,000 for adults and children with Social Security numbers (SSNs). A family of four would receive an additional $600 more than under the CARES Act,” a press release from U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) reads.
Their plan would:
Disburse Economic Impact Payments of $1,000 for both adults and children with SSNs equally, $2,000 if filing jointly. A family of four would receive $4,000.
Includes eligibility for adult dependents, including those with disabilities or college students.
Includes eligibility for US citizens married to foreign nationals but does not include eligibility for foreign nationals or ITIN filers.
Trump Previously Told a Texas Journalist That the Second Stimulus Checks ‘May Go Higher’ Than $1,200
GettyPresident Donald Trump has signaled interest in another round of stimulus payments — but this likely won’t be approved until August at the earliest.
On July 29, Trump sat down for a one-on-one interview with a local television station, YourBasin.com.
When the journalist asked Trump, “Is $1,200 dollars enough?” the president replied, “We’re going to see it may go higher than that actually.”
The journalist also asked Trump how big he thinks the stimulus checks should be. “Where would you like to see it at?” she asked.
“I’d like to see it be very high because I love the people I want the people to get it you know the economy is going to come back we just had tremendous job numbers as you know it was just announced we had great retail sales numbers so this is all coming back we had the greatest economy we’ve ever had and we had to close it up because you know we had to do it we saved millions of lives by doing that but now we’re bringing it back and now it’s going to come back we gotta take care of the people in the meantime,” Trump told YourBasin.com.
The reporter also asked Trump whether he was happy “with the coronavirus relief package that the Tepublicans are bringing to the table?”
Trump responded: “So we’re working on that right now Katie, it’s being working on that very hard. I think probably we’re going to have something that is going to be very good over the next week or so we want to take care of people that don’t have jobs were taking care of a lot of people very important we have to do it smart but we want we very generous.”
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