A Second Coronavirus Stimulus Check May Be Coming

Megan Henney, Fox Business  June 12, 2020

A second coronavirus stimulus check may be coming. Here's how much money you could get

Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested the Trump administration was considering sending Americans another round of stimulus checks to offset the financial pain caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the related economic lockdown.

"I think we’re going to seriously look at whether we want to do more direct money to stimulate the economy," Mnuchin said Wednesday while testifying before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

It's unclear what specific policies the White House is exploring, but there are several proposals — from Democrats and Republicans alike — on the table that would get money directly into the hands of a significant chunk of Americans.

One such package, the $3 trillion HEROES Act passed by House Democrats in May, would send another round of $1,200 checks to American adults and children and expand the number of people who are eligible to receive the government aid. One criticism of the CARES Act, which sent up to $1,200 to Americans earning less than $75,000, was that it did not include older teens and college students.

But the HEROES Act broadens the scope of the money to include those individuals. The payments would be capped at $6,000 per household.

To see how much money you would receive through the HEROES Act, you can use this online calculator provided by Omni.

 Some Democrats have proposed a more aggressive approach to stimulus measures. At the beginning of May, Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., unveiled a bill that would give most Americans a monthly payment of $2,000 until the virus begins to fade — a nod to universal base income championed by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang.

Similar to a House bill proposed in mid-April, the senators called for $2,000 cash payments to every American who earns less than $120,000. It would expand to $4,000 for married couples and also provided an extra $2,000 for each child up to three. That means families with three children could theoretically receive $10,000 per month.

Republicans, meanwhile, have pitched a back-to-work bonus for unemployed Americans returning to their jobs.

More than 44 million Americans have lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus-induced economic shutdown, a rate unseen since the Great Depression. But Republicans have voiced concern that extra unemployment benefits of $600 a week are actually discouraging some workers from returning to their jobs. The sweetened benefits are set to expire at the end of June.

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