Tom Brenner | Reuters
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are still working on a compromise stimulus bill to help Americans cope with the coronavirus crisis.
In an interview with Fox Business host Lou Dobbs on Wednesday, Mnuchin said second $1,200 stimulus checks that are “similar” to the first payments will be in the next package.
Congress authorized the first set of one-time payments when it passed the CARES Act in March. Those checks included up to $1,200 per individual or $2,400 per married couple filing jointly, plus $500 per child under age 17.
The payments were targeted at low- to middle-income Americans. Full payments went to individuals with adjusted gross income up to $75,000, head of household filers who made up to $112,500, and married couples filing jointly with up to $150,000.
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The amount of the checks was reduced for income above those thresholds and phased out completely for individuals with adjusted gross income over $99,000, heads of household filers with $136,500 and married couples with more than $198,000.
Individuals and families with little to no income were also eligible.
In the interview, Mnuchin did not elaborate on the specific terms of the next checks.
The first stimulus checks came with conditions to qualify, including the stipulation that recipients must be a U.S. citizen or hold resident alien status in order to be eligible.
The updated $2.2 trillion HEROES Act that House Democrats have put together seeks to relax some of those rules to make it possible for more people to receive the stimulus check money. That legislation would allow those who file their taxes with taxpayer identification numbers (who are not necessarily citizens or resident aliens) would also be eligible.
House Democrats have also proposed extending eligibility to full-time students under age 24 and adult dependents.
For now, the House is delaying a vote on the legislation as negotiations continue.
Both sides would need to agree on a stimulus package soon before House lawmakers head home to their districts next week and the Senate begins confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett.