Payments are expected to arrive faster than the first round. As early as next week, U.S. government authorities could begin sending out the first second round of stimulus checks after the U.S. Congress approved the $900,000 economic rescue package on Monday, which includes money transfers of at least $600.
With a week to go until 2021, millions of Americans would begin receiving the funds that had been under discussion since shortly after Congress approved the first round under the CARES Act in March.
The guidelines for this new round follow the general parameters of the first direct payments, although in that case, the base figure was $1,200 per recipient.
The expectation is that this time the checks will arrive faster than in the first round, among other things, because the agencies in charge have more infrastructure to identify the recipients and process the payments.
The first funds sent to recipients under the CARES Act arrived in people’s bank accounts about three weeks after the statute was signed in April.
This time, the period could be shorter.
First checks would be issued next Monday
Treasury Department Secretary Steve Mnuchin told CNBC that the first checks would be sent to recipients next Monday.
“The good news is that this is a very, very quick way to inject money into the economy. Let me emphasize: people are going to see this money early next week,” Mnuchin said shortly before the bipartisan package was approved. Individuals with incomes of $75,000 a year or less, and $150,000 in the case of couples, will be paid in full. For dependents, the amount would be $600 each with no limit on the number of eligible children.
Contrary to the CARES law, this time, couples with mixed immigration status (that is, where one of the members is undocumented) will receive the funds.
Stimulus package under the spending bill
The stimulus package was included in the spending bill to fund the federal administration through September 2021 for a total value of $2.3 billion.
The stimulus package also includes an extension of unemployment funds by $300 per week through March, as well as $325 billion in assistance to businesses ($275,000 of it for payroll), $45 billion for public transportation systems, $82 billion for schools, $20 billion for pandemic vaccine distribution, or $13 billion for food stamps.
For it to officially take effect, outgoing President Donald Trump must sign the law, which is expected to happen soon.