WASHINGTON – A second round of stimulus checks will likely be included in the next coronavirus relief package, with the idea of getting the green light from both Republicans and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Senate source told The Post.
It’s unclear if the payments will match the sum of $ 1,200 paid to most Americans as part of a $ 2 trillion economic bailout in March, but the move is one that has received rare approval from both Democrats and Republicans. as well as the Trump administration.
However, the expanded unemployment benefits could be phased out as soon as the end of the month as the Trump administration and members of the Republican caucus pressure Americans to return to work and argue that the $ 600 per week bonus is a disincentive to do so.
Senators will return from their break next Monday to begin working out the details of a fourth congressional aid package as the pandemic continues to hit the US economy and unemployment hovers at a record 11 percent.
Democrats are pushing the generous $ 3 trillion HEROES Act that the House narrowly passed in May, which includes another round of stimulus checks of up to $ 1,200, a $ 200 billion “hero fund” that provides one payment. Risk to Medical Workers and a $ 175 Billion Ransom on Rent and Mortgage Help.
Additional items include an increase in food stamp payments expected to cost $ 10 billion, a bailout of $ 25 billion for the Postal Service, $ 3.6 billion for state election offices and $ 5.5 billion for expand high-speed Internet to libraries and homes.
But the measure is considered dead on arrival in the Senate, as McConnell and the Republican Party fight to keep the next $ 1 trillion emergency bailout.
“Senate Republicans are looking to keep it around $ 1 trillion. They don’t want a $ 3 trillion blowout like that [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi has proposed, “said the Senate source.
In an interview Monday, McConnell said any new legislation would focus on creating jobs, funding schools so they can reopen, and creating liability protection for coronavirus-related businesses, a move that is understood to be non-negotiable for the Republican of Kentucky.
Any relief legislation would have to contain “liability protection for everyone related to the coronavirus,” he said, referring to doctors, schools and hospitals. The powerful senator is also considering allocating more money for vaccine development.
While Republican lawmakers support basic unemployment protection, McConnell and the administration have signaled they don’t want to extend the federal boost of $ 600 a week in unemployment benefits due July 25 and that they currently depend on 30 million Americans. in.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last week that the administration supported extending the measure, but was not comfortable with the benefits that represent “more than 100 percent” of a worker’s salary.
Mnuchin, who negotiated the latest $ 2.2 trillion bailout with Pelosi, said it was a “priority” for the bailout package to pass at the end of the month as coronavirus infections continue to reach record levels across the country.
He noted that President Trump was also in favor of more stimulus controls and told CNBC: “We support another round of payments with an economic impact.”
The pandemic has sidelined more than 30 percent of the country’s workforce while infecting 3.43 million people and killing 138,000 in the United States.
With Steven Nelson
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