Second Stimulus Check: $1,200 Likely Will Be Sent to Same People Who Got the First Check

New information is starting to emerge about possible second stimulus checks, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin now saying that the same citizens who were sent $1,200 for the first stimulus bill back in April will likely be sent the same amount for the second round of checks. During an interview with CNBC, Mnuchin opened up about the new Republican-supported bill and explained that coronavirus relief payments may be very similar to what they previously were. He also said that President Donald Trump “wants to get money into people’s pockets now, because we need to reopen the economy.”

Mnuchin added, “The president’s preference is to make sure that we send out direct payments quickly.” There are no official details on who will or will not qualify, but there have been some groups who were left out of the CARES Act payments who may get stimulus checks under the new bill. During a House Committee on Small Business hearing, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn) noted to Mnuchin that many dependents were excluded from the first payments. These groups include some citizens age 17 and over, college students and disabled adults. Craig asked Mnuchin if he would fight for these groups to be included in the new stimulus plan, and also if he would consider making retroactive adjustments so that people from those groups could receive the initial money. He replied, “From a policy standpoint, I understand that issue and I am sympathetic to it.”

In his CNBC interview, Mnuchin also clarified some details about the discussions of the bill. “Let me just be clear on the President’s priority in the bill and as you know this is a negotiation so we need both Republicans and Democrats support, but we are on the same page with the Republicans,” he said. “We’ve had very good meetings over the last few days, the President’s priority is about kids and jobs. We need to be able to get kids back to school safely.”

Mnuchin added, “The Democrats had $100 billion dollars in their HEROES Act. We’ve increased that to $105 billion, some of that money will be dependent on schools reopening and money used so that it can safely reopen his schools and jobs are going to open we need to make sure we don’t have frivolous lawsuits.” He also spoke about the “enhanced unemployment insurance that’s expiring next week” and stated that it’s “a priority we need to respond to.” The current federal unemployment benefit is set to end on July 31.