CORONAVIRUS
Second stimulus check: what does Donald Trump say about it?
Since the U.S. President signed the CARES Act in March for Americans to receive a stimulus payment there has been speculation of a second one coming soon.
Democrats have been pressuring the Senate to approve the HEROES Act that among other measures will provide a second round of stimulus payment for millions of Americans struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
But Republicans are not in favor of the HEROES Act and want the economy to reopen as soon as possible amid the outbreak. Republicans say the bill is DOA and it will not be discussed until after Memorial Day weekend.
Having said that, Trump gave an optimistic answer about a second round of stimulus checks when he was asked about it by reporters during a visit to a factory in Michigan . "I think there will be a second payment to help Americans move on. We will give them money towards the end of the outbreak. Right now we are focusing on reopening the country,” said Trump.
The president also made it clear that even though he is thinking about a second round of payments, currently it is not being discussed and when the time is right he will inform the media about the steps that will be taken. Trump also said that if there is a second payment that it will not be through the HEROES Act.
Steven Mnuchin wants another bill to be passed
Earlier in the day, the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said there is a “strong likelihood” that another Covid-19 relief bill will be needed as more states start to reopen and the economy struggles to stabilize.
“We are going to step back for a few weeks and think clearly how we need to spend more money and if we need to do that. We’re going to carefully review the situation and I think that there is a strong likelihood we will need another bill, we just have $3 trillion we’re pumping into the economy,” said Mnuchin in an interview with The Hill.