A 'phase 4' stimulus package could include more checks for Americans. Here's what else is being discussed, just weeks after the record $2.2 trillion 'phase 3.'

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A 'phase 4' stimulus package could include more checks for Americans. Here's what else is being discussed, just weeks after the record $2.2 trillion 'phase 3.'
Nancy Pelosi
  • Weeks after passing a momentous $2.2 trillion stimulus package, President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are already saying they might need another relief bill.
  • The package - the fourth stimulus related to the coronavirus pandemic - may include another round of direct payments to Americans, as 16.8 million jobless claims have been filed over the last three weeks.
  • Here's what the major party stakeholders - including Trump, Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell - are hoping the next stimulus package looks like.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The federal government made history in late March when it passed into law a $2.2 trillion stimulus package, including an unprecedented expansion of unemployment benefits and a massive $349 billion small business lending program.

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The law was the third stimulus package designed as relief for the coronavirus pandemic alone - but it still might not have been enough.

The outbreak, which has so far infected more than 580,000 Americans, has shuttered non-essential businesses in most states including many in hospitality and food services, and led to a record 16.8 million jobless claims over the last three weeks.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was an early voice saying that even the massive phase three stimulus package wasn't big enough - within a week of it being signed into law. She has advocated for another round of direct payments to Americans, like the $1,200 checks sent to individuals as part of phase three.

Trump, eyeing reelection in November, also said in late March that he was eyeing more spending, tweeting his support for an infrastructure-focused relief bill, to the tune of $2 trillion.

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Congressional Democrats and Republicans have been reportedly debating behind closed doors on whether to pass another stimulus bill - and what might be in it.

They've also been debating increasing the size of phase three. Republicans want to increase that package's small business loan program by $250 billion and Democrats want the same thing, plus additional provisions, including another $250 billion for health care providers and states.

Here's where a potential "phase four" package currently stands - and what major stakeholders want it to include.

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