GOP leaders met with President Trump today to discuss the contours of the next Covid19 relief package.
According to The Washington Post, this next, and final, round of stimulus will include another direct payment to individuals – potentially at the same $1,200 level as the previous bill – but will reduce the level of unemployment benefits paid to individuals.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin “confirmed Republicans plan to reduce the size of a $600-per-week enhanced unemployment benefit approved in March, which will begin running out for millions of Americans later this week,” according to the Post.
Republicans have argued that with the boost, many beneficiaries receive more in unemployment benefits than they were making while employed. This creates an incentive not to return to work, they say.
“We’re going to make sure that we don’t pay people more money to stay at home than go to work, we want to make sure that people who can go to work safely can do so,” Mnuchin said.
“We’ll have tax credits that incentivize businesses to bring people back to work, we’ll have tax credits for [personal protective equipment] for safe work environments,” he added.
The bill will also include a payroll tax deferral which will possibly be waived entirely by lawmakers at a later date.
“It’s been proven to be successful and it’s a big saving for the people. It’s a tremendous saving and an incentive for companies to hire their workers back and to keep their workers,” President Trump said today.
Democrats passed a $3 trillion stimulus bill earlier this year. The bill proposed by Republicans is expected to top out at $1 trillion.
Photo by The White House