Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin opens the door to another round of stimulus checks for Americans

• Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said on Tuesday at a congressional hearing that the Trump administration was "seriously looking" at the prospect of another round of stimulus checks for Americans.
• "I think we're going to seriously look at whether we want to do more direct money to stimulate the economy," Mnuchin said, adding that the economy would need more federal help.
• Democrats support additional stimulus checks for Americans, but Republicans have been cool to the idea so far.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin opened the door for another round of stimulus checks during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.

In testimony before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Mnuchin said the White House would consider steps such as directly pumping more federal cash into the economy to kick-start growth.

"I think we're going to seriously look at whether we want to do more direct money to stimulate the economy," Mnuchin said. He didn't offer specifics on cash amounts.

Mnuchin said the core of the Trump administration's focus is implementing measures that would encourage people to head back to work. But he outlined his support for another economic relief measure tailored for specific industries hammered by the pandemic, referring to the retail and travel industries.

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"I definitely think we are going to need another bipartisan legislation to put more money into the economy," Mnuchin said. "Whatever we do going forward needs to be much more targeted to the industries and small businesses that are having the most difficulty reopening as a result of COVID-19."

Under the coronavirus rescue package passed in March, $1,200 stimulus checks were sent to Americans earning under $75,000 a year, plus $500 for each child under 17. The amount gradually phased out until the eligibility was cut off for people who make $99,000 or more a year.

Democrats proposed another round of $1,200 stimulus checks in their $3 trillion relief package that passed the House last month. Republicans, though, are not taking up the hefty plan and blasted it as a liberal wish list. Most have cooled on the idea of more direct payments for Americans.

The stimulus checks, combined with a $600 federal boost in unemployment aid set to expire on July 31, shored up people's incomes even as the economy cratered and nearly 40 million Americans filed for unemployment.

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