Second Stimulus Check: What Is the Status After Trump’s Executive Orders?
President Donald Trump’s executive orders — which were signed over the weekend and are still being debated — address unemployment benefits, an extension of the federal moratorium on evictions a payroll tax holiday and deferment of student loan payments through 2020.
But one thing that was missing — a second stimulus check.
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While Congressional Democrats and Republicans have so far failed to come together on a new relief package — with talks stalling completely late last week — they do agree on one thing: Another $1,200 direct payment to Americans who are most financially vulnerable.
While the details about the checks and who might be eligible are still unclear, many insiders believe the best plan would be to mirror the first rollout — which was approved in March under the $2.2 trillion CARES Act. At that time, Americans earnings $75,000 or less were set to receive $1,200 payments. The amount was reduced for those earning between $75,000 and $100,000 — and those earnings more than $100,000 were not entitled to any payout.
An unknown number of people said they still have not received the first round of checks — months later — after the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service said in June that 159 million payments had been issued.
Now as Congressional talks around the second stimulus package resume, White House officials stressed Monday that Trump still support the checks.
“The President would love to see the direct payments to Americans. The President would love to see the school funding,” said White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany in her press briefing on Monday. “There are several items that we’d like to see happen. The more relief for the American people — and those in need, in particular — the better.”
While another stimulus could help give retailers a short-term bounce, recent data shows that many consumers are using the checks to get rid of the debt.
In a Civic Science survey of more than 2,100 adults, 33% of the respondents said they would use new checks to pay down debt and bills, compared with 29% in March.
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