Will you get another $1,200 stimulus check? Sen. Mitch McConnell says yes
A new round of stimulus checks has been confirmed under the second coronavirus relief package introduced by Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell.
McConnell announced the GOP proposal, called the HEALS (Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools) Act on Monday afternoon.
The new proposal will have relief checks similar to the first round under the CARES Act with “more support” for families with adult dependents, according to McConnell.
“We have one foot in the pandemic and one foot in the recovery. The American people need more help,” McConnell said.
Americans who made up to $75,000 per year got a $1,200 check under the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act) in March, The Hill reported. The income cap was set at $99,000 and relief payments were scaled down from there. Joint filers who earned less than $150,000 received $2,400.
Under the HEALS Act, you’ll get $500 per dependent regardless of age, Forbes reported. In the CARES Act, only families with children under the age of 17 received an extra $500.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed last week that people who got a CARES Act check the first time would receive another check. “Our proposal is the exact same provision as last time,” he said.
Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer slammed the GOP legislation as “a series of small piecemeal ideas” that serves as a “metaphor for their first 100 days.”
“It will not ignore one or two or three but scores of major crises in America right now,” Schumer said, adding that it “won’t go nearly far enough.”
McConnell previously hinted that the second round of stimulus payments would be capped at $40,000, according to The Hill.
“I think the people that have been hit the hardest are people who make about $40,000 or less. Many of them work in the hospitality industry. ... That could well be a part of it,” McConnell said, according to the publication.
House Democrats passed their own $3 trillion bill called the Heroes Act on May 15, but it never went up for a vote in the Senate, according to Forbes. The bill from Democrats would have included a $1,200 check for each qualified person, along with $1,200 for each dependent — an increase from the $500 for dependents allotted in the CARES Act.
The Democrats’ bill would have also continued the $600 weekly unemployment benefits, which will begin to expire on July 31, under the CARES Act, through next January, Forbes reported.
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Will you get another $1,200 stimulus check? Sen. Mitch McConnell says yes."