A third COVID-19 relief bill passed the U.S. House over the weekend and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. It is expected to include another round of stimulus checks for most Americans.
The $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package the House approved early Saturday includes $1,400 checks for most taxpayers and includes billions of dollars for schools, state and local governments and businesses. The Senate is expected to begin debating its version of the bill on Wednesday.
Republicans are overwhelmingly against the bill, concerned that that the spending outlined in its 519 pages is vastly more than necessary and designed to advance policy priorities that go beyond helping Americans get through the pandemic. Florida Sen. Rick Scott used a provision that would give $1.5 million to operate a bridge between the U.S. and Canada as an example.
“Do we need to pay for bridges? Does that have anything to do with COVID?”
Democrats and President Joe Biden counter that a robust aid package is necessary to prevent a long and painful recovery from the pandemic.
Poynter Institute and Poynter Institute reviews of the bill found 8.5% of the spending would go directly to COVID-19 spending on things like vaccines, testing and contact tracing. It would allocate $422 billion to make those $1,400 payments to most Americans, $242 billion to extend federal unemployment insurance payments set to expire in two weeks, plus $350 to state and local governments and $130 billion to K-12 education, $40 billion to higher education and $40 billion to child care and development block grants.
“I am a real person who had a real job,” unemployed mother Veronica Bedico said. “And now I need help so that I can provide for my children.”
Who is eligible for $1,400 stimulus checks?
The legislation provides a rebate that amounts to $1,400 for a single taxpayer or $2,800 for a married couple that files jointly, plus $1,400 per dependent -- but the payments phase out for higher-income taxpayers. Individuals earning up to $75,000 would get the full amount as would married couples with incomes up to $150,000.
Under a revision in the Senate bill the Biden administration agreed to Wednesday, the $1,400 checks will fully end for those who earn more than $80,000 and joint filers who make over $160,000.
Under current law, most taxpayers can reduce their federal income tax bill by up to $2,000 per child. The package approved by the House would increase the tax break to $3,000 for every child age 6 to 17 and $3,600 for every child under the age of 6.
The legislation also calls for the payments to be delivered monthly instead of in one lump sum. If the secretary of the treasury determines that isn’t feasible, then the payments are to be made as frequently as possible.
Also, families would get the full credit regardless of how little they make in a year, even just a few hundred dollars, leading to criticism that the changes would serve as a disincentive to work. Add in the $1,400 per individual checks and other items in the proposal, and the legislation would reduce the number of children living in poverty by more than half, according to an analysis from the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University.
When could Americans start seeing payments?
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said their goal is to get the legislation to Biden’s desk by March 14. The Senate could hold a final vote this weekend or early next week.
Based on the IRS timeframe from the last round of payments, payments could begin within a few days of passage. So if the bill were signed by the end of next week (March 12), payments should begin by March 17 or so. The IRS has not confirmed a timeline and won’t until the legislation is signed into law.
You will receive payments quicker if you’re set up for direct deposit with the IRS. Checks would likely be issued days later and face several more days delay based on postal service delivery.
Our sister state, WDIV in Detroit, contributed to this report.