July 9, 2020 | 9:17pm
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin makes his way to the West Wing at The White House.
MediaPunch / BACKGRID
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that a second round of stimulus checks should be included in a new coronavirus relief package — that will hopefully be enacted by the end of the month.
Mnuchin made the announcement during an interview with CNBC when he said that the administration is discussing the plan for a fourth coronavirus relief package with congressional leaders.
“We do support another round of economic impact payments,” Mnuchin told the network.
“We’re discussing the criteria with the Senate, and had a productive talk with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.”
The Trump administration will work “on a bipartisan basis with Republicans and Democrats,” on the bill, Mnuchin said, adding it is a “priority” to have legislation passed by July 20.
The second round of checks would come months after most Americans received a $1,200 sum as part of the $2 trillion rescue legislation passed in March.
Asked about the enhanced federal unemployment benefit set to expire at the end of the month, Mnuchin said the administration supports changing, rather than extending the provision. He did not give additional details.
“You can assume that it will be no more than 100 percent” of a worker’s usual pay, Mnuchin said.
The White House does back an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program loans for small businesses but wants it to be “much, much more targeted” than past rounds of funding, Mnuchin said.
