Mnuchin: Task force to re-open economy will have 100 members targeting May 1 opening

Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin said Monday he and his team had winnowed down a list of 100 business people to join a special task force dedicated to re-opening the economy after the coronavirus pandemic passes.

The task force will work with medical advisers to develop a timeline for re-opening the economy, with May 1 as a possible timeframe for some parts of the economy. 

Mnuchin said the 100 business leaders were categorized by sector and spanned throughout the U.S. economy.

"The one area we are particularly concerned about is the small business program," he said during a daily press briefing of the White House coronavirus task force.

Last week at the briefing, the White House said it hoped to formally announce the economic task force Tuesday.

President Trump said Monday that the White House would be putting out a recommendation of a timeline to re-open the economy within "a few days."

Mnuchin also said Monday that he expected 80 million Americans to receive coronavirus stimulus payments by Wednesday to help with the economic slowdown.

"We want to do as much of this electronically as we can, it's very important in this day and age," he said. "It's more secure, and you don't have to go to the bank."

The Treasury Department and IRS stated today that they expect tens of millions of Americans will receive their payments via direct deposit by Wednesday, April 15, which is typically the federal tax filing deadline. The federal filing deadline for 2019 returns has been extended to July 15.

Payments are being automatically issued to eligible 2019 or 2018 federal tax return filers who received a refund using direct deposit.

Treasury expects a large majority of eligible Americans will receive Economic Impact Payments within the next two weeks. Mnuchin on Monday pointed non tax-filers, saying they can get their payment by using the ‘Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here’ web portal and entering their bank account information.