Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed that he hopes to have a new stimulus package proposal ready next week. The Republican Senator spoke in his home state of Kentucky on Monday, saying that he will get straight to work on the plan when he gets back to Washington, D.C., according to a report by Newsweek. McConnell still hopes to keep the spending as low as possible this time around.
The United States Senate returns from a two-week recess on Friday, and another stimulus package is at the top of their to-do list. As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, many Americans have been calling for another stimulus check, an extension of unemployment benefits, and other means to buoy families through this economic recession. McConnell and others in his party have argued against adding so much to the national debt. On Monday, McConnell reiterated that point, even as he promised to get to work on another stimulus package.
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“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,” he said. “When my members come back next week, we’ll start socializing it with them, begin to discuss it with the Democrats and start the legislative process. I think you can anticipate this coming to a head sometime within the next three weeks, beginning next week.”
Reporters reached out to McConnell’s office asking for more details on this plan, and a representative for the senator said that he has nothing more to share “beyond what he said yesterday.” Speaking to constituents, McConnell said that he hopes to have an economic relief measure passed by the Senate’s next scheduled recess, which begins on Aug. 10.
The Senate has been biding its time on a stimulus package since mid-May when the U.S. Congress passed the HEROES Act, which would have included another stimulus check and other coronavirus-related programs. Many senators — including McConnell — were highly critical of the bill, which proposed a similar payment to the first stimulus check, with a maximum value of $1,200.
In contrast, McConnell has said that he wants to tighten restrictions on the next stimulus package, not loosen them. Last week, he even suggested lowering the income threshold for eligibility on the next check from $99,000 to $40,000.
So far, McConnell and his office have not released any specific legislation, despite outcry from millions of unemployed Americans. They will have to wait until at least next week to see what the senator comes up with.
