John Thune: ‘High Level’ of GOP Interest in Payments to Americans for Coronavirus Outbreak

Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD) said on Tuesday that there is a “high level of interest” among Republicans for a Donald Trump administration proposal to send Americans payments to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus outbreak.

“I think there is a high level of interest among our members in that idea and seems it might be an area where there’s some common ground with Democrats as well,” Thune said after a Senate Republican lunch on Tuesday.

The Trump administration proposed on Wednesday to send Americans up to $1,000 checks in April and May as direct economic support to respond to the economic slowdown that followed the coronavirus epidemic.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who proposed a similar economic relief package this week, said that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told senators that the Trump administration “could stand that up pretty quickly … and get pretty significant relief out there pretty fast.”

Hawley said that compared to the House Democrats’ coronavirus package, Americans need a simpler solution to provide them economic relief. He outlined in a statement on Tuesday:

Struggling families need help, and they don’t have time to sort through confusing rules and mandates about who’s paying for what and how. They’re not sure what’s going to happen to mom’s or dad’s workplace during this crisis, or if their work can afford to keep everyone on payroll. Let’s not overthink this. These families need relief — now — to pay bills that are coming due, make those emergency grocery runs, and get ready for potential medical bills. Let’s get it to them.

Hawley’s legislation would:

• Provide families experiencing school closures or financial hardship a fully refundable monthly benefit. The benefit would match the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) monthly standard for household benefits:
  • $1,446 for a family of three
  • $1,786 for a family of four
  • $2,206 for a family of five
• Verify timely benefit delivery through the existing Treasury Department infrastructure and expediting applications utilizing tax return data for prior filers.
• Target those in need by providing full benefits to all single parents making less than $50,000, and to all married parents making less than $100,000. The legislation would then phase down the monthly credit past the $100,000 salary level.

Hawley wrote on Wednesday that Mnuchin’s proposal is the “right approach.”