Mnuchin made the announcement in an interview with Fox Business, saying the checks would be part of the White House’s emergency $1 trillion plan it announced earlier this week. Every adult would receive $1,000, and children would receive $500, meaning a family of five could receive as much as $3,500.
Mnuchin also said the administration would issue another round of checks in six weeks if the crisis is still battering the U.S. economy. It’s unclear what the income threshold will be to qualify for the payments.
“As soon as Congress passes this, we get this out in three weeks,” Mnuchin said. “And then, six weeks later, if the president still has a national emergency, we’ll deliver another $3,000.”
It’s so far unclear what the income limit would be, but Senate Republicans said earlier this week that they’d like to model the payments on tax rebates sent out by the Bush administration in 2008, according to the Hill. The income limits for full rebates then were $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples.
