Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. (Photo: AP)
On top of the major expansion of lending programs announced by the Federal Reserve Board on Monday to keep credit markets functioning, Congress needs to approve an additional fiscal stimulus package today, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC early Monday morning.
"Congress needs to approve additional funds today so that we can move forward and support American workers and the American economy," Mnuchin said during an interview on "Mad Money With Jim Cramer."
For small businesses with 500 workers or fewer, Mnuchin said, there's "enormous bipartisan support" for a Phase 3 stimulus plan. "We are providing immediate loans to small businesses," he said. "We're working with the [Small Business Administration]; we're going to make sure that banks can immediately lend money to companies that are 500 [employees] and less that will cover two weeks of payroll and some overhead as long as those companies hire back their workers or keep their workers."
At the end of that period, Mnuchin added, "we will forgive those loans entirely."
Mnuchin said that he also has the IRS "working on direct deposits" for Americans. "I expect that money will be out in the next two to three weeks, in peoples' checking accounts or savings accounts."
