Want the best of VICE News straight to your inbox? Sign up here.You’re probably going to get a new coronavirus stimulus check, if Congress can get its act together. Congressional leaders are close to finalizing a $900 billion stimulus package that would include a fresh round of stimulus checks, a person familiar with the talks told VICE News—a point that’s been far from certain as negotiators furiously thrash out the details of the plan.It’s not yet clear how big the checks might be, or who’d qualify. The checks will be “likely around $600,” Politico reported, citing an unnamed source. Back in March, Congress agreed to send out $1,200 payments to individuals earning $75,000 a year or less, but that deal included a lot of fine print. The benefit fell according to a sliding scale for people earning more than $75,000 per year up to the income level of $99,000 per year—above which point, no check for you. The deal now under discussion includes both new stimulus checks and enhanced federal unemployment benefits, the person familiar with discussions said, echoing reports from other outlets following the feverish negotiations on Capitol Hill. Of course, Congress is infamous for screwing things up. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have already been dragging their feet on this deal for months as the country plods through historic pandemic misery.But prominent members from both sides of the aisle have publicly called for new checks, including Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. Last week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin proposed a plan that would have involved sending out $600 checks. But Democrats balked because the approach didn’t bolster unemployment benefits. President Trump said in a TV interview over the weekend that he wants stimulus checks in the deal, saying he wants to “see checks—for more money than they’re talking about—going to people.”Negotiators appear likely to slash new aid for states and cities from the deal, a key point that Democrats have been pushing for, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. The current outline deal doesn’t include liability protections for companies, the person said. That would be a defeat for McConnell, who has championed protecting companies from coronavirus lawsuits as his cherished priority. “We’re not negotiating over liability protection,” McConnell said in July. The person who spoke to VICE News said the deal now under discussion aims to include “other avenues to deliver aid to states, localities, territories and tribes.” The person did not explain precisely what that meant.
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