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White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday he wouldn’t “rule out” another stimulus package, but added that the Trump administration hasn’t made a decision yet.
“We know the economy is still in a terrible, contractionary phase, tremendous hardships everywhere,” Kudlow said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We’re trying to work through this. I don’t want to rule in or out anything right now. We are in discussions internally and with leading members of Congress.”
Host Jake Tapper questioned why the White House put a pause on another round of stimulus funding in light of how quickly the second round of loans to small businesses have been used up, asking if that suggests “there is a real need.”
“It may be,” Kudlow answered. “We haven’t made a decision yet … This has been an extremely popular and effective program. No question about it. Keeping folks on the payroll is so important.”
He went on to say that the funds will “add potential strong springback” as the states phase in reopenings of their economies this summer.
“So I don’t want to rule it out. I think we waited a little too long when the last tranche ran out. Let’s not make the same mistake again,” he said.
Governors have called on Congress to approve another round of funding to provide aid to states that have seen their revenues plummet as businesses close because of the coronavirus, and their expenses rise to combat the outbreak and treat those infected.
More than 30 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits in the past six weeks.
The original $2.2 trillion stimulus package passed in March included $349 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, but that cash dried up rapidly because of overwhelming demand.
Congress passed another round of funding last week, and so far $175 billion of the $310 billion authorized has already been distributed.



