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Mnuchin Says White House ‘Seriously Considering’ Second Round Of Direct-Payment Coronavirus Relief
by Angers Hagstrom, The Daily Caller:
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Thursday the White House and Congress are considering a second round of coronavirus relief checks for some Americans.
Mnuchin confirmed the possibility during an online conference with reporters Thursday, saying administration officials have discussed the idea with President Donald Trump but no ultimate decision has been made, according to the Wall Street Journal. The payments would come in addition to the $1,200 checks sent out to millions of Americans earlier this Spring.
“It’s something that we’re very seriously considering,” Mnuchin said on the issue, according to WSJ.
The phase three bill also included $1,200 checks for individuals making less than $75,000 per year and an additional $500 for each child under 17 years old, according to CBS News.
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 21: U.S. President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin participate in the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House on April 21, 2020 in Washington, DC. Earlier in the day, the president met with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Oval Office to discuss COVID-19 testing. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Congress has negotiated over a potential phase four plan for weeks, but no decisions have been made about what the bill would contain. (RELATED: Here Is Trump’s Plan To Address Racial Inequity And Police Brutality)
Mnuchin went on to say it is “extremely unlikely” that the government would force sections of the U.S. economy to shut down once again due to coronavirus, according to WSJ.
Experts have warned for months that a second-wave outbreak in the fall may be even worse than what America has experienced already. White House Coronavirus Task Force members Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci have also said Americans can expect the virus to abate in the summer months as heat hampers the disease’s ability to spread.
“We’re not going to close the country,” Trump said in May. “We’re going to put out the fires. There could be, whether it’s an ember or a flame, we’re going to put it out, but we’re not closing our country.”
