Americans Could Get $600 Stimulus Checks Early Next Week, Says Mnuchin

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Monday (Dec. 21) that Americans should see $600 individual stimulus checks as soon as next week.

“This is a very, very fast way of getting money into the economy. Let me emphasize: People are going to see this money at the beginning of next week,” Mnuchin told CNBC in an interview.

Mnuchin made his remarks ahead of a Congressional vote that was expected to pass the much-debated $900 billion economic stimulus bill.

“People go out and spend this money, and that helps small business and that helps [to get] more people back to work,” Mnuchin told CNBC host Jim Cramer. “So it’s very fast, it’s money that gets recirculated in the economy.”

The $900 billion bill is intended to provide a second wave of economic relief to Americans suffering from the financial impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It is intended as a follow-up to the $2.2 trillion CARES economic package that was passed by Congress during the early days of the pandemic in March.

The new bill calls for individuals, including children, to receive checks of $600 per person. People who made more than $75,000 during 2019 will receive lower amounts, with the payments phased out entirely for those who made more than $99,000. The bill also includes $300 a week in supplemental unemployment payments and extends expanded eligibility rules for unemployment insurance claims, according to CNBC.

Per the report, Democrats have said the bill would add $284 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program that provides loans for small businesses, along with an additional $20 billion in small business grants and $15 billion for live event venues.

On Sunday (Dec. 20), The Wall Street Journal reported that the new U.S. government coronavirus relief package will contain $600 in direct checks, $300 in unemployment benefits per week and aid for small businesses, schools and vaccination plans.

The deal was reached on Sunday (Dec. 20) after months of false starts and negotiations between Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the White House. The details were finalized after a disagreement was settled surrounding the Federal Reserve‘s emergency lending powers earlier in the weekend, WSJ reported.

Unemployment benefits will have $300 added for 11 weeks. Two other unemployment benefits, which broaden the pool of people eligible for unemployment, will be extended as well before phasing out in the spring.