Senate Republicans on Monday presented an outline for another stimulus package to help businesses, schools, health care facilities and everyday Americans amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools Act, the fourth stimulus package proposed by Congress, calls for more forgivable loans for small businesses, federal unemployment insurance at $200 per week (it had been $600 per week under the CARES Act), money to help schools to reopen, personal protective gear for health care workers and a moratorium on certain evictions, among other types of aid.
In addition to help for businesses, schools and health care facilities, the bill also includes a second stimulus payment that would put money into the hands of more than 150 million Americans.
According to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, the proposed payment of $1,200 would follow the same formula as the first stimulus payment that began being paid out in April under the CARES Act.
In remarks from the Senate floor on Monday, McConnell said the payment would be calculated and distributed in the same way it was under the CARES Act.
As many struggle with a loss of income and the prospect of having to pay for child care if their children are not able to return to in-school learning, concerns are growing over just when stimulus payment help would come.
Here is a look at who would get the checks under the proposed GOP plan and when they could expect to see the payment:
Who would get the payment as the bill stands now?
Those who qualify for the payment – individuals earning a gross adjusted income up to $75,000 per year in 2019 and couples earning $150,000 – will receive the $1,200 or $2,400, respectively, if the bill passes.
Individuals and couples will also receive an additional $500 for dependents. The HEALS bill would eliminate the age limit for dependents that was included in the first bill and precluded college students from either getting a check or allowing their parents to claim them as dependents.
Checks would be reduced by $5 for every $100 in income, with payments being phased out completely at $99,000 and $198,000.
When will the second IRS stimulus checks arrive?
When the next payment comes will depend on when the Congress agrees on the amount the check should be and passes the bill that authorizes the payment of the check.
Congress is set to take its August recess beginning Aug. 7. As of Tuesday, that gives the Senate and the House 11 days to negotiate the stimulus package, have the vote in the Senate, then assuming it passes the Senate, move the bill to the House.
Assuming it passes the House, it would then have to be sent to the president’s desk for his signature, something he says he will do.
If a bill is not completed in that time and the House and Senate go in recess, the full Congress would not be in session again until Sept. 8.
Whether a bill is passed before the recess or after, the IRS will have to process the payments, identifying who is eligible and how much each person would get. The checks would likely begin going out within two weeks of the president signing the bill, as they did with the first stimulus checks.
Cox Media Group
