Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned Republican senators today that the coronavirus pandemic could drive up US unemployment to 20%, up from the 3.5 percent level it notched last month.
Mnuchin’s comments came as he urged Republican senators to act on economic stimulus measures totaling $1 trillion designed to avert that kind of worst case scenario.
In the same meeting, Mnuchin also said he is concerned the economic ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic could be worse than the 2008 financial crisis.
In response, the Trump administration wants to send direct cash payments to Americans in the coming weeks to help them cope with the economic ravages of the coronavirus.
The overall price tag of the package could be around $1 trillion, Mnuchin told reporters on Capitol Hill after meeting with GOP senators, making it one of the largest federal emergency fiscal packages ever assembled.
News of the stimulus planning sent the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 1,000 points Tuesday as it recovered some of its losses from Monday.
However, reservations expressed by Democrats today over various aspects of the package suggested that it could take some time to arrive at a bipartisan agreement that could pass both chambers of Congress.
The scramble for a deal comes while the coronavirus pandemic has upended everyday life for many Americans.
Today, officials on North Carolina’s Outer Banks took steps to begin restricting tourists and visitors to limit permanent residents’ exposure.
The San Francisco area began implementing a shelter-in-place plan with residents, a tactic New York officials are also studying.
Meanwhile, Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel brand, began furloughs affecting tens of thousands of employees.
With parts of the economy appearing to be in free fall, layoffs mounting each day and industries such as hotels, airlines and restaurants pleading for relief, the United States on Tuesday recorded its 100th death from the virus.
There were also more than 1,000 new infections reported in a 24-hour span, the highest number so far.
After initially proposing a big tax cut to help the economy recover, White House officials have shifted gears in the past day and now appear to be backing the idea of sending immediate payments to millions of Americans.
They believe this would quickly inject cash into the economy and help Americans pay bills in the coming weeks, rather spreading any savings out over time.
“We’re looking at sending checks to Americans immediately,” Mnuchin told reporters Tuesday. “And I mean now, in the next two weeks.”