A $900 billion package is in the final stretch after President Donald Trump's signature – the bill is set to relieve citizens from the impacts of COVID-19 and the President signed it on Sunday afternoon, confirmed Trump's press secretary on Twitter.
The package will offer a second payment of up to $600 for adults and their dependent children. As with the CARES Act from March, the second payment has a sliding scale based on adjusted gross income, and not everyone will qualify for the immediate $600 payment. The package also includes an additional $300 per week in Unemployment Insurance, a tax credit to help businesses pay their employees .
The IRS is expected to start sending the second stimulus packages — which the agency calls economic impact payments — in about a week, through a combination of physical checks in the mail, direct deposits and EIP cards, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Dec. 21.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill on Monday, with the Senate approving it later in the afternoon. Trump's signature was the final step required for the bill to become law.
This second stimulus package that millions of Americans will receive is a fraction of the $1,200 checks that were distributed in March as part of the CARES Act relief package. It comes at a time when COVID-19 infections are rising in many parts of the country . The package comes as the U.S. job market continues to suffer. Last week, more than 885,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time , the U.S. Department of Labor reported .
As the health and economic intensifies, Congress has come under pressure to pass a relief measure before the end of the year. This agreement was the result of months of negotiations between the leadership of the Democratic and Republican parties.
Information source: cnet.com
