Second Stimulus Check May Be Excluded From New, Smaller GOP Stimulus Package Proposal

A second stimulus check appears to be conspicuously absent from a pared-down proposal that Senate Republicans are expected to unveil today.

With negotiations over the next coronavirus stimulus package at an impasse and Republicans divided among themselves, Senate leaders held conference calls with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows last week. The output from those calls is a redefined plan that is expected to help unite the Republican caucus by lowering the $1 trillion price tag of the HEALS Act. By drawing more support, it will also strengthen the Republican negotiating position in talks with Democrats. Senate leadership informed Republican aides that text of the “skinny” bill would be released by Tuesday afternoon, according to Politico, who first reported on the pared down proposal.

GOP aides indicated that the revised Senate proposal would include $300 weekly enhanced unemployment benefits, an increase from the $200 that Republicans included in the HEALS Act, but consistent with the amount of extended federal aid that President Trump directed in an executive memorandum earlier in August.

It is also expected to include more aid for small businesses by providing additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) as well as funding for health and education funding. Similar to the HEALS Act, Republicans are expected to continue pushing for a business liability shield, which would protect employers against coronavirus-related lawsuits.

GOP aides indicated Monday that the skinny bill would also include $10 billion for the United States Postal Service (USPS), which is what Mnuchin and Meadows had agreed to in talks with Democratic negotiators Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, earlier this month; however, it is less than the $25 billion in USPS funding that the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on this Saturday. The $25 billion figure is the amount that the USPS board of governors had requested several months ago to cover pandemic-related expenses.

GOP aides who provided details of the expected provisions made no mention of a second stimulus check. In addition to Politico, multiple outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and The Hill, reported on what the new skinny GOP bill will include and none made mention of a second stimulus check.