(CNN) President Donald Trump wants to quickly put more money in Americans' pockets to help soften the economic blow many will face as the coronavirus disrupts life across the nation.

"We don't want people losing their jobs or not having money to live, when they were doing very well just four weeks ago," Trump said at a press conference Tuesday. "So we're going big, and that's the way it'll be."

While the President had been pushing a payroll tax cut, he's now come around to the idea of sending checks to Americans as part of a massive economic stabilization package. The figure being discussed is $1,000, though it's still early in the process and Congress must weigh in.

Providing direct stimulus payments is not a novel idea. In fact, the last president to do so was also a Republican -- former President George W. Bush mailed out checks during the recessions of 2001 and 2008 to mitigate economic pain.

Rebates in 2001 and 2008