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Asked About Stimulus Checks, Trump Says Next Package Will Be ‘Very Generous’

   DailyWire.com
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 31: U.S. President Donald Trump looks back at journalists after welcoming Mongolian President Battulga Khaltmaa to the White House July 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. Khaltmaa, who traveled to the White House to seek trade and military deals with the United States, also symbolically gifted a horse to Trump's son, Barron. Trump said the horse will be named "Victory." (Photo by
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Trump on Monday said the next stimulus package will be “very generous” and will be announced in “a couple of weeks.”

Trump sat down Monday with told Joe St. George, Washington correspondent for Scripps. Here’s their exchange:

St. George: I have a lot of viewers in Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, who are still struggling economically, sir. They spent all of that first stimulus check, are you going to get them a second stimulus check?

Trump: Yeah, we are. We are. Look we had this —

St. George: When? When are you going to get it?

Trump: We had this going better than anybody’s ever seen before. We had the best job numbers, the best economics, the best economy we’ve ever had, and then we had the virus come in from China. Now we’re rebuilding it again. We will be doing another stimulus package. It’ll be very good; it’ll be very generous, and people—

St. George: How much? People want to know.

Trump: You’ll find out about it. You’ll find out.

It’s unclear from Trump’s answers whether another round of checks for Americans is in the works, or whether his administration will push for a stimulus bill that might include checks. “When asked for clarification, the White House press office responded by sending a transcript of the interview,” Forbes reported.

“President Trump has signaled his openness to the idea of more checks before, as has the White House, though he has been more enthusiastic about the prospect of a payroll tax cut to prop up the labor market instead,” Forbes said.

The House has already passed a bill that calls for a stimulus check similar to the one available in the Cares Act — a $1,200 check for adults and as many as three child dependents. That means a family of two adults and three children would qualify for a $6,000 stimulus check. But the price tag is hefty: $3 trillion.

The bill is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Senate, where Leader Mitch McConnell is looking for a lower price tag, around $1 trillion. Both sides are expected to renew negotiations soon.

Under the Cares Act, individuals were eligible for payments up to $1,200, but that amount declined for those with an adjusted gross income higher than $75,000 a year. The $1,200 payment dropped by 5% of every dollar above $75,000, or $50 for every $1,000.

The benefit didn’t apply for individuals with incomes over $99,000.

Married couples with combined incomes up to $150,000 received $2,400, subject to the same phase-out that applies to individuals. The payments were phased out entirely for couples making $198,000 or more. Families also got $500 per dependent child under the age of 16.

About 120 million U.S. taxpayers qualified for direct payments from the federal government under the bill, according to an analysis by one think tank.

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