Mnuchin: Americans Can Expect Coronavirus Relief Checks In 3 Weeks
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday said Americans can expect to receive a portion of the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package within three weeks, either by direct deposit or a check in the mail.
How each individual or family will receive the money ― up to $1,200 for individuals or $2,400 per couple ― will depend on whether the Internal Revenue Service has their direct deposit information, he said on CBS News’ “Face The Nation.
“We will create a web-based system for people where we don’t have their direct deposit, they can upload it, so that they can get the money immediately as opposed to checks in the mail,” Mnuchin said.
The IRS already has bank information for individuals who provided it for tax refund checks.
National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow, speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” forecasted a similar timeline for the distribution of individual checks. He added that federal loans to small businesses will be ready for processing by this coming Friday.
“We’ll have rapid speed, much faster than has been done in the past with these things,” he said. “We will get it into people’s hands right away.”
In addition to providing individual payments to Americans and loans to small businesses, the economic stimulus measures also provide enhanced unemployment insurance.
Mnuchin said “the entire package provides economic relief, overall, for about 10 weeks.”
But exactly how long the virus is expected to impact the U.S. economy is not actually known, both Mnuchin and Kudlow said.
“It could be four weeks, it could be eight weeks,” Kudlow said. “I say that hopefully and I say that prayerfully, that’s what some of the science experts are telling us. I don’t know if they’ll be right.”
Rather than predicting the future, Mnuchin said he’s focusing on the now.
“We have everybody within Treasury and the administration working around the clock to get this money out quickly since this doesn’t do people any good if it takes a long time,” he said. “If for whatever reason, this takes longer than we think, we will go back to Congress and get more support for the American economy. But I hope that’s not needed.”
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