White House to Send Stimulus to Combat Coronavirus Hardship

American parents are on edge this week making sure they can get work done, homeschool their kids, and afford to pay their bills. This stress comes amidst economic uncertainty, coronavirus quarantines and evolving childcare situations.

But they may soon be getting a check from the American government to help alleviate some of these challenges. There’s no guarantee, but the White House is reportedly considering helping families out financially by sending two $1,000 checks to many citizen as the pandemic progresses, the Washington Post reports.

This could see American families receive $2,000 to get through hardships brought on by this pandemic.

“No final decisions have been made and talks with Republican leaders remain fluid, but the growing scale of the $1 trillion rescue plan is coming into sharper focus, ” the Post reported Wednesday.

This comes after days of discussions and as more and more families are feeling the impact of lost work.

“We’re looking at sending checks to Americans immediately,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters at the White House Tuesday.

“Americans need cash now, the president wants to get cash now. I mean now—in the next few weeks,” said Mnuchin, who did not give specifics on the amount or who would receive funds, but he did say that it will not be universal as millionaires will be excluded.

According to CNN, Mnuchin also advised Americans will be able to defer up to $1 million in payments to the Internal Revenue Service for 90 days and that the IRS would not charge interest or penalties for the deferral.

Mnuchin’s comments came one day after Republican Senator Mitt Romney and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown suggested federal payments of $1,000 for Americans during this hardship.

The proposal to provide $1,000 in cash to individuals attracted bipartisan support. In certain cases, economists have found that giving cash to those in need is more effective in alleviating poverty than developing programs aimed at the same purpose.

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang famously recommended giving every American $1,000 a month of Universal Basic Income, what he called the “Freedom Dividend,” in the face of a global, automatic economy that has left many workers behind.

The two $1,000 payments are under consideration now along with dozens of other sources of relief in a $850m Coronavirus stimulus bill to help individuals and businesses, expected to be signed by President Trump this week. Other proposals include a payroll tax cut, paid sick leave, and a stimulus programs for small and medium-sized businesses.

The Trump administration still needs Democratic support for the proposed $2,000 payments, but that support is likely as many supported the plan for $1,000.

[A previous version of this post was published March 16. It has been updated. Motherly will continue monitoring legislation and keep reporting on issues that matter most to mothers. This is a developing story and we’ll update as necessary.]