White House ‘studying’ options for more stimulus checks

WASHINGTON — Momentum appears to be building for another round of direct payments to households, as lawmakers and the Trump administration start discussions on a new COVID-19 aid package.

“That’s something that we’re studying very carefully, and I know that people in the House are as well,” White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Tuesday.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Ways and Means Chairman Richard E. Neal, D-Mass., and other top Democrats have had more direct financial assistance on their list of priorities for the next aid bill.

Legislation that House Democrats introduced last month proposed checks and direct deposits of up to $1,500 per person, which was higher than the $1,200 amount ultimately signed into law.

President Donald Trump said this month that he favors another round of direct payments, though he didn’t specify a figure. “We could very well do a second round of direct. I would do a direct,” he said April 6.

The roughly $2 trillion aid package enacted last month included what the Treasury Department calls “economic impact payments” of $1,200 for individuals making less than $75,000 in adjusted gross income. Couples received $2,400 if they made less than $150,000, with $500 extra per child. Total payments start to phase out above those income thresholds.

During the initial bargaining over what became the massive $2 trillion aid bill, the Trump administration pitched the idea of two rounds of staggered payments, six weeks apart. But Senate Republicans

and House Democrats ultimately settled on an initial payment, with the possibility of another round later if economic conditions continued to worsen.

It could take some time for another round of checks to go out. Lawmakers and the White House have yet to begin serious discussions on the next aid package, with likely protracted negotiations over more money for state and local governments.