The next stimulus package to revive business and bring back the normalcy in the United States could swell over $1 trillion. Negotiations are getting louder in the White House where Congress is discussing the process of reopening schools, empower small businesses, boost virus testing, and keep cash flowing to Americans, Associated Press reported.

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced a new round of direct payments to people below a specific payroll. This is similar to the $1,200 checks sent in the spring.

President Donald Trump also suggested a payroll tax holiday for workers. In contrast, Democrats demanded billions to outfit schools and shore up local governments.

Mitchell McConnell Jr. told reporters that the Trump administration wants to make sure that the funding package “meets the legitimate needs that are before the American people.”

“We need to carve out a new normal,” the Republican leader said.

While McConnell is pitching for a $1 trillion package, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has put forth a $ 3 trillion proposal as a counter-offer.

McConnell’s package includes a fresh round of direct cash payments to Americans below a certain income level and a five-year liability shield against what he warns is a potential “epidemic” of coronavirus lawsuits.

The proposal also includes a package of $70 billion to help schools reopen and $25 billion in virus testing funds.

However, Trump administration is also pitching to replace the $600 weekly federal jobless benefit with a lower amount. They believe that the unemployed are receiving more remittance than they could earn in the regular days, AP report added.

This will be the fifth package after the $2.2 trillion bills passed in March, the most substantial U.S. intervention of its kind, as per media reports.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is now in double digits, higher than in the last decade’s Great Recession.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW