Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said, during an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” that after discussions over the weekend he remains optimistic about a second coronavirus stimulus package, with Senate Republicans planning introduce a bill on Monday, just 100 days before the presidential election.
The bill is presented as a benefit amount under the previous CARES bill that will expire.
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Mnuchin also noted that due to resistance from Democrats, a payroll tax cut, which President Trump had hinted could be a deciding factor for him if not included in a stimulus bill, will not be part of the current package after all. Several Republicans were also against it.
“That is something that the president will return to and discuss later in the year,” Mnuchin said, alleging that direct payments to Americans, which were part of the CARES Act and are expected to be part of a new bill, they also perform faster. relief.
“Direct payments are a much faster way of granting a tax cut to everyone, and it’s much faster than a payroll tax cut,” he said.
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Meanwhile, the key parts of the CARES Act will expire in the near future. The Paycheck Protection Program that provides forgivable loans to small businesses will end in early August, and the benefits of enhanced unemployment insurance will expire on July 31. A federal eviction ban has already ended on July 25.
Mnuchin said the new bill will provide additional unemployment benefits, but noted that it will be less than the payments issued under the CARES Act, because some workers were raising more than they earned on the job. As a result, when companies were reopening, some employees had no incentive to return to work.
Mnuchin said the next unemployment benefits would be in the form of a 70 percent wage replacement.
“I think workers and Americans understand the concept that you shouldn’t pay more to stay home than to work,” he said.
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Mnuchin said the Trump administration and Senate Republicans are on the same page with a $ 1 trillion package, but noted that in the interest of passing a bill quickly, issues that are more difficult to negotiate with Democrats could postpone for another bill.
“This will be the fifth set of legislation, so there is no reason why we cannot have number five, six, and seven, as we have to deal with the issues, and obviously whatever we do, we need bipartisan support,” said.
