Stimulus Checks: White House Reportedly Supports Second Round of Payments

The White House would consider supporting a second round of stimulus checks, according to senior administrative officials who spoke with CNBC Thursday. The report comes hours before the House of Representatives votes on a new coronavirus relief package, known as the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. The $3 trillion bill, supported by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, would include a new round of direct payments to Americans.

The Trump Administration did not provide further comment on a second stimulus check for Americans. “As President Trump has said, we are going to ensure that we take care of all Americans so that we emerge from this challenge healthy, stronger, and with economic prosperity, which is why the White House is focused on pro-growth, middle class tax and regulatory relief,” the White House told CNBC.

The HEROES Act would call for another $1,200 payment to Americans to assist with economic challenges during the coronavirus pandemic, reports CBS News. The check would be different from the previous Economic Impact Payment, in that $1,200 would be guaranteed for every family member, up to $6,000 per household. The previous payments, included in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, only included $1,200 for taxpayers and $500 per each dependent under 17 years old. Anyone earning between $75,000 and $99,000 in adjusted gross income individually received reduced checks based on their income, and anyone earning more than $99,000 did not qualify for a payment at all.

During Monday’s press conference, President Donald Trump signaled his support for a second round of payments, although he also endorsed the idea of a payroll tax cut. “Well, we’re talking about that with a lot of different people,” he said at the time. “I want to see a payroll tax cut, I want to see various things that we want, I want the workers to be taken care of, but we are talking about that. We’re negotiating with the Democrats. We’ll see what happens.”

There have been several other proposals for second checks, including one by Reps. Rim Ryand and Ro Khanna, which would send $2,000 monthly payments to eligible Americans for a year. Meanwhile, most Republicans are not supporting more relief spending, which likely means the HEROES Act would not pass the Senate. Republicans have said they will not vote on new relief programs until June, reports Forbes.

Meanwhile, more Americans are filing for unemployment insurance. On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that just under 3 million more Americans field for unemployment benefits in the past week. It was a decline for the sixth straight week, but almost 36.5 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits during the coronavirus pandemic, reports CNBC.