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Congress has been discussing the possibility of sending another round of $1,200 payments to Americans to help with the impact of the coronavirus. The virus has caused widespread economic damage due to the shutdowns initiated to prevent its spread. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are out of work, and countless others are still feeling the squeeze of the pandemic.
In March, Congress authorized a one-time payment of $1,200 to each American who made under $75,000. People making more than $75,000 received less, until it vanished outright over $100,000. Now, Congress is considering another round of supplement checks, but republicans are looking to narrow down who receives the money. There are no official announcements for who, exactly, will receive the payments, or how soon we can expect Congress to take up a new relief bill.
Congressional republicans are hesitant to authorize another multi-trillion dollar relief bill. When it comes to corporate bailouts, they tend to be loose with the purse strings. When it comes to helping the average American, however, republicans tend to become more stringent.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters that he wanted a second round of payments to help people that make under $40,000 per year.
Wednesday, McConnell told reporters, “The people that I think have been hit the hardest during this whole episode have been people making $40,000 a year or less. Many of them work in the hospitality business, hotels, restaurants — we’re going to be acutely aware of that particular segment of our population going into this next package that we’ll be putting together in the next few weeks.”
However, there is no indication that this is the exact number republicans are aiming for. Given that the GOP controls the upper house of Congress, however, they’ll need to sign off on any relief check.
Republicans are likely sensitive to the fact that national polling is showing incumbent Donald Trump slumping in approval ratings. November’s election could be a reckoning for republicans in Congress if the American people repudiate them.
Direct payments to peoples’ checking accounts could be a strong way for republicans to ingratiate themselves to voters.
However, it might be too little, too late. Opponent Joe Biden is polling above fifty percent. Historically, challengers polling over fifty percent approval ratings in July go on to win the election in November. Congressional republicans now find themselves playing defense going into a major election year.
