Congressional leaders closed in Wednesday on a $900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package that would deliver additional help to businesses, $300 per week jobless checks, and $600 stimulus payments to most Americans. But still no deal.
“We’re still close and we’re gonna get there,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Wednesday evening as he left the Capitol.
The addition of the $600 direct payments came after recent endorsements from both President Trump and progressives including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who remains unhappy about the overall package.
“Everything that is in that package is vitally needed,” Sanders said Wednesday on MSNBC. “The problem is that it is a much smaller package than the country needs in this moment of economic desperation.”
If this deal is passed, when can Americans start seeing stimulus payments? Most likely by New Years Eve.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said back in August about how quickly he could send out the checks, “I can have them out immediately,” Mnuchin said.
“If I could get that passed tomorrow. I could start printing them the following week,” Mnuchin told reporters at the White House in August.
“I can get out 50 million payments immediately,” said Mnuchin.
If the government does not have your banking information on file, it could take several weeks for a paper check to arrive.
But, they have to get a deal done first. Still waiting.
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