No coronavirus stimulus check in GOP’s new smaller plan?

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There are no stimulus checks yet even though both Democrats and Republicans agree on sending $1,200 in direct payments. However, there are now reports that the Senate is planning a new bill that won’t include stimulus checks. This means, if this bill turns into law, there will be no coronavirus stimulus check for you.

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New GOP bill: what it might include?

With no negotiations over the next stimulus bill since last week, the Senate leaders reportedly held conference calls with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

Based on the discussions over the conference call, the Senate is now expected to come up with a new plan that would be lower than the $1 trillion price tag of the HEALS Act. A lower cost would help unite the Republicans and strengthen the Republican negotiating position against the Democrats.

It is reported that the trimmed GOP plan would include $300 in federal unemployment benefits. This amount is $100 more than what the HEALS Act proposed and consistent with what President Donald Trump outlined in his executive memorandum earlier in August.

Further, the bill could also include more aid for small businesses by refilling the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The bill would also include funding for health and education, and offer liability protection to protect employers from coronavirus-related lawsuits.

As per a report from Forbes, the new bill could also include $10 billion in funding for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Trump objected to this earlier, but on Monday, Meadows suggested that the White House could approve postal funding. The Democrats, however, want $25 billion in USPS funding and are scheduled to vote on the same on Saturday.

No coronavirus stimulus check?

According to Forbes, the GOP aides who revealed about the new bill made no mention of the coronavirus stimulus check. Also, many other publications, including Politico, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and The Hill, reported that the new GOP bill made no mention of the coronavirus stimulus check.

Most Republicans have been favoring a smaller stimulus package. So, it was always expected that some provisions would either be scaled back or eliminated. However, no coronavirus stimulus check, if it is true, would come as a big shock.

This is because since the start of negotiations in late July, both sides agreed on sending $1,200 in stimulus checks. The differences are over the dependent payment, but both Democrats and Republicans have proposed sending $1,200 to those with income less than $75,000. Also, President Trump on several occasions previously, has talked about sending generous stimulus checks to Americans.

Interestingly, the anticipated Senate proposal does not include aid to the state and local governments as well. But, this could be expected as Republicans, including Trump, do not favor sending states and cities aid.