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Americans are very likely to get $1,000 (or more) checks. Here’s what you need to know.

Romney suggested sending every American

 such a sum to help amid the coronavirus outbreak

. The plan received thumbs up from Trump and

 lawmakers and economists across the political spectrum.

Americans could get a check for $1,000 or more in the coming weeks, as political leaders coalesce around a dramatic plan to try to prevent a worse recession and protect people from going bankrupt.

The idea took off Monday when Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called for every American adult to receive a $1,000 check “immediately” to help tide people over until other government aid can arrive. By Tuesday, there was bipartisan support for the idea, including from President Trump. The White House even suggested the amount could be over $1,000, an acknowledgment of how big the economic crisis is becoming.

“We’re looking at sending checks to Americans immediately,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, adding that Trump wants checks to go out “in the next two weeks.”

This isn’t a new idea. The United States has done 

this twice before. During the Great Recession, the federal governmen

t sent about every adult a $300 to $600 check (plus $

300 per child). The same thing happened in 2001, when the majority of Americans received a $300 check.

In the last recession, checks went out to pretty much everyone who wasn’t a millionaire and including Social Security recipients. Americans earning at least some income but less than $75,000 got the full amount, while wealthier people got less. The payments were sent by a check in the mail or direct deposit into a bank account.

Most economists across the political spectrum like this idea because it’s simple and relatively fast. Unlike other government aid — unemployment insurance, welfare or food stamps — people do not have to apply for the payments, and there are no restrictions on how to use the money.

As the U.S. economy comes to a standstill, job losses are mounting and could reach the millions, economists say. A $1,000 payment won’t fully compensate people, but experts and politicians say it’s a good first step to help people buy groceries and pay rent. It works out to the equivalent of one week of pay for the typical American, according to the latest Labor Department data, which shows median weekly earnings of $936 for full-time workers.

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