STEVE Mnuchin said Americans could be receiving their $600 stimulus checks as soon as next week, reports say.
The Treasury secretary confirmed the welcome news on Monday after a Covid-19 package agreement was finally reached this weekend.
Speaking to CNBC host Jim Cramer, Mnuchin said the stimulus deal is “a great birthday present” to him the day he turned 58.
He said: “The good news is this is a very, very fast way of getting money into the economy.
“Let me emphasize: People are going to see this money at the beginning of next week. So it’s very fast, it’s money that gets recirculated in the company.”
“People go out and spend this money and that helps small business and that helps getting more people back to work.”
The top Trump official, who said he’d spoken with Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, several times, noted that “this is a large bill and has a little bit of everything for everybody.”
Mnuchin also discussed the bombshell Russian hack of the United States government during the interview today, noting that the Kremlin hackers didn’t get access to classified documents at the Treasury.
“We do not see any break in into our classified systems. Our unclassified systems did have some access,” he said.
“There’s been no damage, nor did we see any large amounts of information displaced.”
Mnuchin confirmed a tentative $600 stimulus payout timeline after lawmakers finally finalized the $900 billion economic relief package, which Nancy Pelosi called it “a good bipartisan bill.”
“Everyone understands it’s a first step,” she said, noting that Congress will need to get “more to get virus assistance to crush the virus. More money to buy vaccines.”
When the House Speaker took the flood she also slammed the GOP reluctance to include state and local government funding, demanding “how do the Republicans think the vaccine gets disseminated?”
“Do you think these vaccines come into a state,” she raged today. “[That] they go from the lab to your arm magically?”
Earlier, she said Trump “may want his name on that check” but declared that the name “of the American people” should be on the payment.
An agreement on stimulus checks had finally concluded after Congress held a rare weekend session to reach a coronavirus relief deal.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised the package as a “bipartisan breakthrough” on Sunday, according to USA Today.
“As the American people continue battling the coronavirus this holiday season, they will not be on their own,” McConnell tweeted. “We will pass another rescue package ASAP. More help is on the way.”
Donald Trump then signed the stopgap measure, which prevented a government shutdown.
An embattled Congress has bickered and fought through several stalled attempts at providing more aid to Americans after the first round of stimulus checks were sent out in the spring.
Negotiators on both sides of the aisle had seemingly come to an agreement that would include $600 checks for Americans, along with a series of other crucial assists.
The amount of cash would decrease for people earning over $75,000 per year, according to the Washington Post.
The deal came hours before the federal government was set to run out of funds and is expected to be merged with a colossal spending legislation to keep the government funded through the end of the fiscal year, The New York Times reported.
The merged legislative measure would be Congress’s last major act before adjourning for the year.
Trump had reportedly demanded the United States Congress agree on stimulus checks that are a minimum of $1,200 and at most $2,000.
On Sunday morning, the president tweeted: “Why isn’t Congress giving our people a Stimulus Bill?
“It wasn’t their fault, it was the fault of China. GET IT DONE, and give them more money in direct payments.”
McConnell had urged for an agreement to be made on a new coronavirus relief package on Saturday.
“The American people cannot feed their families, or pay their bills with Congress’ good faith discussion,” McConnell told the Senate floor, according to Fox News.
“They need us to act. We need to conclude our talks, draft legislation and land this plane.”
McConnell also revealed there has been productive talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.
