Americans have gotten $239 billion — and counting — from the IRS to help them ride out the coronavirus pandemic. Whether households get another round of $1,200 stimulus payments is tied to the increasingly partisan debate over how quickly the economy should reopen, the Wall Street Journal reported. Many Republicans, however, predict a rapid economic recovery as lockdowns end, and they say that government aid to households should now shift to focus more on incentives to work. They say that the stimulus payments provided so far have helped tide Americans over as the economy recovers. “Things are starting to pick up because this bridge to the other side that we built with the stimulus bill appears to be working,” said Kevin Hassett, President Trump’s economic adviser, last week. That view will carry weight as the Republican-controlled Senate considers the $3 trillion coronavirus relief package passed last week by the Democratic-controlled House. That bill, as a whole, is unlikely to become law, but pieces of it may survive. The House package included a second, larger round of payments. Individuals would again get $1,200 from the Internal Revenue Service, but the payment per child would rise to $1,200 from $500. Groups excluded from the first round would get money, including college students, adult dependents, and households with undocumented immigrants where not everyone has a Social Security number. Those payments to people who were initially excluded in the law that passed in late March would be retroactive, adding $23 billion to the original $293 billion size of the first round. Together with larger payments for dependents, the second round of stimulus would be worth $413 billion. “The $1,200 doesn’t go very far over six weeks, so we decided to build a more robust initiative this time around,” said Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Many House Democrats, seeing a slow return to normal and a protracted economic downturn, contend it is crucial to get money out again. They see fresh cash injections as a bridge to help families weather an uncertain economic future amid more waves of infections and deaths.
