Second $1,200 check possible as proposal moves to the Senate

All you need to know about the HEROES Act — and the pushback

WASHINGTON D.C. (KYMA,KECY) - The House of Representatives voted to pass the HEROES Act on Friday, a bill which would provide another round of stimulus checks to qualifying citizens, among other things.

But now the largely Democrat-backed bill makes its way to the Senate, where Republicans have the majority.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has expressed his worry of the bill, saying this additional stimulus bill will increase the major federal debt.

And if the HEROES Act passes the Senate, President Trump will need to sign the bill into law for it be take effect.

This second coronavirus relief bill was drafted by Democrats, and designed to help those economically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It would infuse up to $3 trillion into the US economy, and includes financial aid for the unemployed, struggling businesses, the US Postal service, and funds for increased testing.

If passed, the HEROES Act will provide a cash payment of up to $1,200 per family member, with a cap of $6,000 per household.

It also would carry over the current enhanced unemployment benefit of $600 per week— on top of the normal unemployment payout, until January 2021.

How Students may benefit

If the HEROES Act does pass in the Senate, it would offer $10,000 in student loan forgiveness to federal, Perkins, and commercially-held FFEl-program loan holders.

However, Forbes reports only those who are considered to be "economically distressed borrowers" can qualify for this forgiveness. In order to qualify, borrowers currently must:

• Pay $0/month on student loans

OR

• Be in default, serious delinquency, forbearance or deferment

As stated above, HEROES act in effect would extend the CARES Act loan payment suspencions for 12 more months.

What does this mean to students? This would allow students to have until September of 2021 to begin paying back their loans.