Trump administration seeks 2 rounds of checks to Americans in massive coronavirus response

The White House is moving forward with a proposed $1 trillion coronavirus package that would infuse Americans' bank accounts with two rounds of direct cash payments.

The Trump administration is seeking $250 billion in payments to Americans starting April 6, followed by another $250 billion cash payment round beginning May 18, according to the working draft of the plan obtained by Fox Business Network.

The two payments to taxpayers would be identical and the amounts would vary by family income and size, according to the Treasury Department document on the "Stage Three" coronavirus proposal.

The Washington Post first reported the document.

The draft of the plan outlines a major economic infusion that goes well beyond the stimulus and bailout plans during the last financial crisis and designed to prop up an economy that has ground to a halt as stores and restaurants and schools are shuttering nationwide and families are isolating at home.

The Trump administration’s stimulus package is bigger than the 2008 bank bailout, and the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was passed and signed under former President Barack Obama and totaled $787 billion to help stabilize the economy about 14 months after the last recession began.

Congress and President Trump already approved an $8.3 billion package to prop up the health care system to respond to the pandemic. The Senate Wednesday is poised to send another bill to Trump's desk to give 14 paid sick days to workers, boost unemployment insurance, make coronavirus testing free and increase food assistance during the crisis.

But all sides agree that the government must pass a third round of stimulus as soon as possible to help small businesses stay afloat, aid workers who have lost jobs and give the economy a jolt as American consumers nationwide are stuck home.