This week, United States President Donald Trump expressed his support for a second stimulus check to be distributed to Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic and the economic devastation it brought with it.
Second stimulus check confirmed?
According to Fox Business, the president noted in a previous interview with Scripps personnel Joe St. George that he is planning on sending out a second stimulus check to the American people.
Trump added they were working on passing another stimulus package and noted it would be much more generous than previous attempts.
Allegedly, Trump told his private aides that a second stimulus check would help improve the country's economy and increase his chances of being re-elected in the upcoming elections.
The White House, however, has not decided on a second stimulus payment, and President Trump refused to reveal how much would be included in the next package.
Trump did say that he expects the proposal to garner bipartisan support among politicians and said it would most likely happen within the next few weeks.
The second stimulus checks will be distributed under the proposed HEROES Act, which consists of $3 trillion to be given away to individuals and families, as reported by CBS News.
The previous stimulus check under the CARES Act faced criticism of its exclusion of several citizens. It provided stimulus payments to every dependent under 17 years old, which resulted in millions of seniors and juniors in high school above the age limit, not getting any financial assistance.
Lawsuits are swarming Trump's administration for the Act's exclusion of immigrants and their families from receiving the stimulus payments.
Also Read: Second Stimulus Check Could Be 25% Higher Than the First One
More financial aid
The HEROES Act would also provide more payment to each individual than the CARES Act, with an increase of about 25% from $1,729 to $2,170. The increased amount resulted from more payment being delivered to dependents who were mostly excluded from the first stimulus.
The final decision for the second stimulus check would most likely come in July when Congress returns from its annual vacation. If or when it passes, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a system to handle and distribute the checks properly.
According to CNET, however, it would take weeks for the stimulus check to be delivered to individuals.
While millions of Americans have gotten their first stimulus checks, several more are waiting for the financial support to arrive.
As of June 3, the IRS had distributed 120 million stimulus checks as direct payments to bank accounts, 35 million checks via mail, and four million in prepaid debit cards.
An estimated 35 million American citizens have yet to receive their stimulus checks from the first payments.
The HEROES Act would use a similar eligibility test as the CARES Act, where individuals who earned a specific amount per year would receive payments. It also has a similar phase-out process for different income tiers, and those who make much more than others in a year would not receive payments at all.
