Congress is poised to approve a second round of stimulus payments for U.S. households, and money could reach many Americans faster this time, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Internal Revenue Service now has procedures, online tools, bank-account information and coordination with other agencies that it didn’t have set up in advance when the first round of payments was approved in the spring. Now it is up to Congress to approve the second round of payments, set all the details and send a bill to President Trump for his signature. That still could take weeks, but once that happens, money can start flowing. House Democrats passed a bill in May that would offer $1,200 per adult and $1,200 each for up to three dependents. It would also expand eligibility to groups that were excluded from the earlier round, including adult dependents, college-student dependents and households where some people are citizens but others aren’t. Senate Republicans and the Trump administration, meanwhile, want to repeat the first round of payments, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. That means $1,200 per adult and $500 per dependent. The Senate Republican plan is likely to include payments for all dependents, not just the children eligible for the first round, said a person familiar with the proposal. The House and Senate plans would both start shrinking payments for individuals with incomes over $75,000 and married couples with incomes over $150,000.
