[13] Unprecedented in size and scope,[9] the legislation was the largest economic stimulus package in U.S. history,[14] amounting to 10% of total U.S. gross domestic product.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, dramatic global reduction in economic activity occurred as a result of the social distancing measures meant to curb the virus.

[31] On March 13, Democratic representatives Ro Khanna and Tim Ryan introduced legislation to provide payments to low-income citizens during the crisis via an earned income tax credit.

[35][36] With guidance from the White House, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proposed a third stimulus package, amounting to more than $1 trillion.

[c] It was suggested that $200–500 billion would fund tax rebate checks to Americans who made between $2,500 and $75,000 in 2018 to help cover short-term costs[36][35] via one or two payments of $600–1,200 per adult and $500 per child.

[45] On May 15, 2020, the Democratic-controlled House passed a $3 trillion relief bill called the HEROES Act, but the Republican-controlled Senate never brought it to a vote.

[61] Jared Kushner's businesses may generally be eligible for relief under the Economic Stabilization Fund because, according to The New York Times, he usually owns less than 20% of his family's real estate projects.

[66] Clay Lacy Aviation, a California-based private jet charter company that serves business executives and celebrities, received a government grant of nearly $27 million that it does not have to repay.

"[105] Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) criticized the fact that Democrats were not involved by Republicans in drafting the bill.

[106] Among Senate Republicans there was "significant debate and disagreement" regarding "Donald Trump's proposal to provide most Americans with $1,000-plus checks to boost spending and stimulate the economy".

[113] Nancy Pelosi indicated that the House would prepare its own bill, expected to exceed $2.5 trillion, as a counter-offer,[114] which was criticized by Republicans as "a progressive wishlist seemingly unrelated to the crisis".

[115] Early in the morning of Wednesday March 25, Senate leaders announced they had come to an agreement on a modified version of the CARES Act,[116] the full text of which exceeds 300 pages.

[116] Senator McConnell said on the floor, "[we have] reached a bipartisan agreement on a historic relief package for this pandemic ... this is a wartime level of investment for our nation.

[125] Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, attempted to maneuver for a roll-call vote, but the quorum present did not support the idea.

Massie's threat to demand a recorded vote nonetheless "compelled dozens, if not hundreds, of lawmakers to return to Capitol Hill from their home districts, navigating across interstates and through airports at a time when public health officials have urged Americans to avoid nonessential travel and gathering in large groups".

[126] Despite the criticism Massie continued to defend his actions, claiming that the act was full of pork barrel spending and that very little of the total money would actually go to citizens.

[133] According to The New York Times, the statement was consistent with Trump's "history of trying to keep damaging information acquired by an inspector general from reaching Congress".

The Treasury Department earmarked about $500 million of those funds to go towards Alaska Native corporations (ANCs), which provided similar governance as typical tribal leadership in the lower 48 states.

The case was eventually heard by the United States Supreme Court, which ruled in June 2021 that ANCs did qualify as tribal governments under the ISDA, and thus eligible to receive the set-aside funds.

One week later, Trump removed Fine from his position as acting Pentagon inspector general, making him ineligible to chair the committee.

[139][140][141][142] The Congressional Budget Office provided a preliminary score for the CARES Act on April 16, 2020, estimating that it would increase federal deficits by about $1.7 trillion over the 2020–2030 period.

In particular, the act authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide up to $454 billion to fund emergency lending facilities established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Because the income and costs stemming from that lending are expected to roughly offset each other, CBO estimates no deficit effect from that provision.

[146][147] Some citizens of other countries were accidentally given checks on the basis of having previously worked or lived in the U.S.[148] Congress passed the CARES Act relatively quickly and with unanimity from both parties despite its $2.2 trillion price tag, indicating the severity of the global pandemic and the need for emergency spending, as viewed by lawmakers.

[149] Writing in The New Republic, journalist Alex Shephard nevertheless questioned how the Republican Party "... had come to embrace big spending" when, during the Great Recession, no Republicans in the House and only three in the Senate supported President Barack Obama's $800 billion stimulus, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), often citing the deficit and national debt.

[150] Shephard opined that, unlike CARES, much of the media attention to ARRA focused on its impact on the deficit, and he questioned whether Republicans would again support a major spending request under a hypothetical future Democratic president.

[155] In a release dated April 16, 2020, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the CARES Act "will increase federal deficits by about $1.7 trillion over the 2020–2030 period.

The request to add Trump's name and a letter from the White House stood to delay the mailing (due to reprinting), but the checks were sent on time.