President Joe Biden has endorsed a plan to lower income caps for Americans in order to receive a direct payment under the $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package due to be passed in the coming days, a Democratic source said on Wednesday with.
The $ 1,400 USD stimulus check exit levels are:
- $ 75,000 income for single applicant; The limit for receiving a payment is now $ 80,000
- $ 112,500 for Heads of Household; The cap is now $ 120,000
- $ 150,000 for shared filers; now limited to $ 160,000
The structure would lower the House-approved ceilings on direct payments income. According to the lower chamber’s bill, individuals earning up to $ 100,000 (and joint applicants earning up to $ 200,000) would have received some amount.
According to a rough estimate by Howard Gleckman, Senior Fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, eight million people who received House Bill payments would lose them under the Senate plan. Even more people are expected to receive lower payments than the House proposed, he added. Gleckman estimates the changes would save about $ 15 billion in one bill of nearly $ 2 trillion.
Another estimate is that around 12 million people could lose checks as a result of the policy change.
When asked if Biden supports the proposal, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “He is happy with the state of the negotiations.”
President Joe Biden speaks at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, on February 22, 2021, about the American rescue plan and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for small businesses in response to the coronavirus.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
The changes come from moderate Senate Democrats calling for the scope of controls included in the legislation to be reduced. In order to pass the auxiliary law as part of the budget vote, the party leaders must not lose a single vote among the 50 members of the caucus. Democrats are taking advantage of the process that allows laws to be passed by simple majority as Republicans question the need for more spending to boost the economy.
Democrats restricted the authority of the controls to appease the centrist lawmakers.
Disagreements within the party could have threatened Democrats’ plans to get the bill through the Senate and to Biden’s desk by the weekend before the unemployment benefit programs expire on March 14. The House is expected to approve the Senate version of the bill next week.
The Senate plan provides that the same unemployment insurance surcharge passed by the House will be retained. Until August 29th, unemployment benefits of $ 400 per week would be added.
The anticipated change to the Senate law drew the wrath of some progressives in the house. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., tweeted, “Conservative Dems have fought so the Biden administrator is always sending less generous relief checks than the Trump administrator.”
“It’s a move that makes little to no political or economic sense, and is aimed at an element of relief most felt by everyday people. A goal of its own,” she wrote.
The Senate is planning its first procedural vote on Thursday to pass the aid law. But the chamber has days of hurdles to overcome before it can send the legislation back to the house for final approval.
Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., Plans to force Senate officials to read the entire bill aloud, which, according to NBC News, will add hours to the process. Then lawmakers will debate the plan for up to 20 hours, followed by a marathon vote on changes to the plan.
Once the Chamber has voted on all the amendments (with no limit on the number proposed), it can approve the legislation.
In addition to the checks and unemployment benefits, the law passed by Parliament includes funds to promote Covid-19 vaccinations, an increase in tax credits for children, new help for small businesses, money to reopen schools, and relief for state, local and tribal governments .
– CNBC’s Thomas Franck contributed to this report
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