Trump wants quick checks sent to public in virus response

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has planned to outline the roughly $850 billion package to Senate Republicans at a private lunch, with officials aiming to have Congress approve it this week.

Washington: US President Donald Trump wants the government to send checks to Americans in the next two weeks in an effort to curb the economic cost of the coronavirus pandemic, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday.

“The president has instructed me we have to do this now,” he said at the White House briefing. He didn't give details except to say the amount should be significant and millionaires would not get it. The proposal requires approval from Congress.

"We want to make sure Americans get money in their pockets quickly," Mnuchin said. The stock market rose during the briefing after a savage drop Monday.

The White House was asking Congress on Tuesday to approve a sweeping emergency stimulus package to help businesses and taxpayers cope with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. It's the most far-reaching economic rescue package since the Great Recession of 2008.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin planned to outline the roughly $850 billion package to Senate Republicans at a private lunch, with officials aiming to have Congress approve it this week.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, opening the Senate on Tuesday morning, promised swift action.

“The Senate will not adjourn until we have passed significant and bold new steps above and beyond what the House has passed to help our strong nation and our strong underlying economy weather this storm," McConnell said.

Bigger than the 2008 bank bailout or the 2009 recovery act, the White House proposal aims to provide a massive tax cut for wage-earners, $50 billion for the airline industry and relief for small businesses.

Two people familiar with the request described it to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly.

The White House hopes the measure will pass quickly, possibly this week, an enormous political undertaking as the administration scrambled to contain the economic fallout of the severe disruptions to American life from the outbreak.

White House officials offered senators a preliminary briefing late on Monday at the Capitol, saying they want the plan approved by Congress as soon as possible, suggesting in a matter of days.

“ASAP,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said late on Monday. “There's an urgency.”

The rush to inject cash and resources into the economy is an effort unlike any since the 2008 economic crisis, with political and economic interventions and eye-popping sums to try to protect Americans from the health and financial fallout.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do from here,” Mnuchin told reporters late on Monday.

The new proposal is beyond the House's estimated $100 billion aid package of sick pay, emergency food aid and free virus testing that was approved over the weekend and is pending before the Senate.

With inputs from AP