Trump’s Demand For $2,000 Individual Stimulus Could Delay Payments

President Donald Trump said he doesn’t think the $600 per person individual stimulus payments are enough, and his demand to increase them to $2,000 could delay the relief bill and the individual payments, CNBC reported Wednesday (Dec. 23).

Aside from $600 per person and $1,200 per couple, the current bill about to be finalized by Congress also calls for $600 per child under 17.

Trump, however, has said that each person should get $2,000, and he asked Congress in a video released Tuesday (Dec. 22) on Twitter to “amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000, or $4,000 for a couple,” PYMNTS reported.

“Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it!” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted in response.

Many Democrats had requested higher $1,200 payments, CNBC reported. The $600 payments amount to roughly $166 billion of the total $900 billion relief package.

If the payments are raised to $2,000 per adult and $600 per dependent, the cost could total about $500 billion, according to Bill Hoagland, senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center, per CNBC.

Alex Anderson, policy research associate at Raymond James, told CNBC that $2,000 checks could cost between $500 billion to $600 billion.

According to the report, the House will attempt to unanimously pass a bill with $2,000 payments on Thursday (Dec. 24).

In the Tuesday Twitter video, Trump pointed out what he saw as “the many flaws in the stimulus bill,” PYMNTS reported. Aside from the direct payments, the current bill includes jobless benefits, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding, assistance to help distribute vaccines and more. Trump was particularly critical of funding that would go overseas, which is part of a $1.4 trillion bill paired with the relief bill to keep the government funded.