August 19, 2020 Update:
Senate Republicans have now put forward their “skinny proposal” for the next round of stimulus funding.
As mentioned yesterday, the new proposal includes extended unemployment benefits that drop from $600 per week down to $300 (through December 27, 2020).
The “skinny” proposal continues the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) but also includes the liability shield for businesses (which many Democrats adamantly oppose).
There is also a lot of aid for education and healthcare.
Over $100 billion would be dedicated to education (Education Stabilization Fund) and $10 billion will go to USPS.
The new bill would also give $45 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services.
$20 billion of that would go toward vaccine and therapeutic manufacturing and production, $16 billion would go to state and local governments, and $6 billion would be put aside to prepare for vaccines.
Worth noting: stimulus checks are not included in this package.
It’s extremely perplexing as to why stimulus checks would not be included in this skinny package considering that they have gained clear support from Republicans, Democrats, and the White House — and that support has been there for months.
One could even argue that out of all of the major components of the next stimulus package, stimulus checks have the most universal support.
Other media outlets seem to be confused as to why these checks were not included in this package and right now it does not look like anybody has a real answer.
Many are speculating that Democrats will not get on board with this proposal and there is even talk that it may not be popular among all Republicans, so it may not gain traction.
As someone who has followed the progress of the stimulus checks on a daily basis over the last six months, this is definitely an odd move.
But I’m thinking it is just a negotiation tactic to get Democrats to negotiate from the bottom rather than the top and perhaps lumping stimulus checks later will allow Republicans to more easily argue that they have “compromised” on a larger price tag?
You would think Democrats would see right through that approach though, so I’m not sure how effective that would be.
Regardless of motive, hopefully someone in Congress will soon do what they have to do to get the stimulus checks in the proposal, especially since the Census Bureau reported that 30 million Americans are struggling to have enough food to feed themselves and their families
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Original article:
Yesterday, I wrote about a potential new proposal that would be a pared-down version of the next stimulus package.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows Stated that Trump was willing to sign a “limited” stimulus bill which would provide the following benefits:
- Aid for the Postal Service
- Stimulus Checks
- Enhanced federal unemployment benefit
- Extension of the Paycheck Protection Program
Well, now we have an update on that but it does not look very positive when it comes to stimulus checks.
There are reports that the GOP is set to introduce a new smaller stimulus proposal that will include certain benefits but exclude others.
Some of the “skinny” benefits that are expected to be in this package include an increased amount for unemployment benefits from $200-$300 a week.
(This is an increase from the Republican proposed HEALS Act and it also is in line with the executive memorandum signed by Trump.)
The stimulus proposal is also expected to have more funding for the Paycheck Protection Program as well as health and education programs.
There is also talk that there will be $10 billion for the United States Postal Service (USPS).
This is less than the $25 billion in funding that the House is scheduled to vote on this weekend but it is what Mnuchin and Meadows had agreed to in prior talks with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.
The big missing link in this skinny proposal is more stimulus checks, however.
According to multiple sources, stimulus checks are nowhere to be found in this new proposal that is scheduled to be released later today.
That is extremely odd considering that stimulus checks have had by bi-partisan support for quite some time now.
Reportedly, experts do not believe that Democrats will support this bill and it is easy to see why considering that it does not include many of the provisions they support and Democrats do not want a piecemeal solution.
But some people feel that this will strengthen and perhaps unite Republicans who have had to deal with some division within their own ranks.
In my eyes, this is just yet another chapter of the never ending saga for this next stimulus package and the second round of stimulus checks.
I do believe those checks will be going out sometime in the next few weeks but I think we all are going to have to sit tight until Congress can get their act together (no pun intended).
Related
New proposal for the stimulus checks and other aid
Congress turns to special caucus to progress negotiations on stimulus package
President Trump ready to send out more stimulus checks
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
