The White House is considering the idea of issuing coronavirus “war bonds” through the Treasury to finance the government’s fight against the pandemic.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Monday that he is raising the idea with President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.
“The secretary and I and the president and others talked about selling long-term paper,” Mr. Kudlow told reporters at the White House. “We’re just looking at it.”
Government bonds currently have 10- and 30-year maturities. The White House and many lawmakers in Congress are already looking at the need for another economic rescue plan, following on the $2.2 trillion package approved late last month to help workers, distressed businesses and communities.
Mr. Kudlow said White House officials want to see the impact of the current rescue package before committing to the next one.
“We have to execute what we’ve got on the table, it’s a massive package, give it a few weeks minimum, a month, and let’s see how effective we are, let’s see how efficient we are,” he said. “If we need more money, we’ll go and seek more money, and to that point, we’ll finance it. I don’t think it will be hard to be financed.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.