Silke Jasso
President Donald Trump has suggested that the next coronavirus stimulus package currently being negotiated in Congress could include direct cash payments to U.S. families higher than the $1,200 million that Americans receive in the last round. According to Trump, “it may go higher than that actually. I’d like to see it be very high because I love the people.”
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The president noted that he wants people to know that the economy is going to come back soon, and the government has had “tremendous job numbers” with great retail sales. He stated, “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 got to take care of the people in the meantime.”
STIMULUS: Nothing set in stone right now, but President Trump says 2nd Stimulus Check To Americans could be higher than the last! https://t.co/1LTHEHRUtd
— Mercury Chronicle 🇺🇸 (@MercuryReports) July 30, 2020
President Trump didn’t necessarily say how much he envisioned for the second round of stimulus checks. His remarks came a day before the Commerce Department delivered some bad news on the economy, saying that the gross domestic product, also known as GDP, fell a 33% annualized rate for the April-June quarter. This is the worst plunge since record-keeping began back in 1947.
Several lawmakers on Capitol Hill are now negotiating another stimulus package that will deliver money to millions of Americans that were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released the Republican vision for the second round of stimulus, calling it the Health Economic Assistance Liability Protection in Schools Act. This is also known as HEALS Act. As far as the Senate, their version comes in with a price tag of $1 trillion – $2 trillion less than the House’s stimulus bill, which is the HEROES Act. While the Senate bill could trim supplemental payments for unemployed Americans, it does mirror the stimulus bill which was passed in March, which gave Americans $1,200.
Under that bill, several individuals are eligible for payments of up to $1,200 but the amount declined for those who have an adjusted gross income higher than $75,000 a year, which is based on their 2018 tax filing. The $1,200 payment dropped a 5 percent of every dollar above $7,5000, or $50 for every $1000.
The benefits didn’t apply if an individual came out with an income of over $99,000. Married couples with combined incomes of up to $150,000 received $2,400 subject to the same face out which applies to individuals. The payments were phased out entirely for those couples who make $198,000 or more.
Families also got $500 for dependent children under the age of 16. Around 120 million US taxpayers qualify for direct payments from the federal government under the bill. This time around, Americans won’t need to do anything in order to receive the money. The IRS will use the 2019 tax return it filed or their 2018 return as an alternative. The House is scheduled to start recess by August 3rd and the Senate is expected to follow on August 7th. Action on aid of Americans is expected before then.
