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Coronavirus

Second stimulus check: Trump keen to invest $1 trillion

Bloomberg report that a second round of Economic Impact Payments from the IRS could materialise in July. The first round gave $1,200 to eligible individual taxpayers.

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FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump walks past a building defaced with graffiti by protestors in Lafayette Park across from the White House while walking to St John's Church for a photo opportunity during ongoing protests over racial inequality i
Tom BrennerREUTERS

The first CARES Act saw millions of Americans receive economic aid during the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the HEROES Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives but was said by Republicans to be 'DOA, Dead on Arrival' when it reached the Senate, is still in the works.

Just under $260 billion was sent out in Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) across the States, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said in their most recent EIP figures.

HEROES Act: Dead on arrival?

It's anticipated that the HEROES Act will face an uphill battle to get through the GOP-controlled Senate in its current form, with both the White House and Senate Republicans branding it “dead on arrival” at the upper chamber.

What’s more, a fresh coronavirus relief package may not happen right away. Speaking last Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) said: "You could anticipate the decision being made on whether to go forward [with a stimulus bill] in about a month."

On Tuesday, Republican Senator Roy Blunt added: "My personal belief is we will do something before the August break - that's about the right timing." How successful the Democratic desire to have a clear focus on renewable energy within the package is, however, another question.

US Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) ask a question by video conference during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on "COVID-19 and Beyond
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US Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) ask a question by video conference during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on "COVID-19 and BeyondANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDSAFP

1 trillion dollars for coronavirus aid

Bloomberg however maintain that Trump administration officials are 'increasingly expected to spend up to $1 trillion in the next round of economic stimulus' despite no definitive decision yet taken by  President Donald Trump.

Bloomberg claim that 'Trump has said he wants to include an infrastructure package and other measures in the next stimulus that would push spending beyond that amount' as the US President met with White House economic advisers Larry Kudlow and Kevin Hassett late Wednesday to discuss about the next round of stimulus checks.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump turns away and departs as reporters ask questions after the president made an announcement about U.S. trade relations with China and Hong Kong in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 29, 2020.
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FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump turns away and departs as reporters ask questions after the president made an announcement about U.S. trade relations with China and Hong Kong in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 29, 2020.Jonathan ErnstREUTERS

Economy hit at levels equivalent to the Great Depression

A broad shutdown of the country in mid-March to contain the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus, has resulted in the worst unemployment since the Great Depression.

"The states may be opening back up, but the labor market is still closed for millions across America and the loss of the income and spending of those without jobs will be a considerable headwind for this economic recovery," said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York.