The House of Representatives approved President Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill, including a third round of $ 1,400 stimulus checks for most Americans.
The Democratic-controlled Chamber voted 219-212 in favor of the package, also known as the American Rescue Plan (ARP), on Saturday morning. The Associated Press reports that Democratic representatives moderate. Jared Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon were the only two lawmakers to cross party lines in the vote, while Republicans united against the bill.
The next move will go to the equally divided Senate, where changes may occur, such as removing a proposed increase in the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour by 2025 (from $ 7.25 an hour). The party’s non-partisan parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, said on Thursday that Senate rules require that the salary increase be removed from the legislation.
A senior Democratic aide told the AP that Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. said he was considering adding a clause to the version of the Senate bill that would penalize large companies that do not pay workers at least $ 15. per hour. Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, also proposed raising taxes on companies that do not meet certain minimum wage targets.
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Criticized the package as too expensive and “bloated” extras unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic, such as $ 1.5 million for a bridge in upstate New York . But most of the details are likely to remain, including direct payments and additional unemployment assistance, thanks to special rules that will allow Democrats to avoid obstruction by Republicans, which would require an unattainable 60 votes for defeat.
Congress plans to have the project on Biden’s table by March 14, when the current round of unemployment benefits and other coronavirus aid expires.
How much will I receive?
House committees have approved giving a total of $ 1,400 to individuals with an income of up to $ 75,000 (phasing out up to $ 100,000) and $ 2,800 for couples earning up to $ 150,000 (phasing out up to $ 200,000), similar to the first two rounds of stimulus checks. Approximately 85% of American adults would be eligible for the full amount, based on their income from their most recent income tax return.
Combined with the $ 600 stimulus checks approved by President Donald Trump in December, the package would mean $ 2,000 in direct payments for most Americans.
Parents would also receive $ 1,400 per dependent, instead of $ 600 in the first two rounds, and this third round of checks will include eligible adult dependents for the first time. The previous two rounds were limited to children under 17, so parents with college-age students can expect even more money.
This means that a family of four could receive $ 5,600 – in addition to the new Child Tax Credit.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) Proposed a $ 3,000 child tax credit for children aged 6 to 17 and $ 3,600 for children under 6 years of age. The credit, based on the income of the taxpayer in 2020, would normally be a fixed amount on an individual or family’s income tax return, but will be delivered as a monthly payment from the IRS for $ 250 or $ 300, depending on the age of the child or children, for an entire year to help families affected by the pandemic.
The current child tax credit under the 2017 Tax and Employment Reductions Act provides $ 2,000 per child under 17 for single filers with an income of $ 200,000 or less and couples filing joint actions with $ 400,000 adjusted gross income or less.
When will I receive my stimulus check?
At the end of March, probably.
After the second round was approved and signed by Trump, payments started to come out in a few days. The first round of checks took weeks to start arriving, even through direct deposit, but millions will receive the third round quickly if they have already verified their information on the IRS “Get My Payment” website.
Schumer set a March 14 deadline to send the bill to Biden’s desk, which means that those with direct deposits could receive their stimulus checks in late March and those who receive paper checks or debit cards would likely receive their payments. in late spring.
What else is in the new coronavirus relief bill?
President Biden first proposed the $ 1.9 trillion aid package last month, including $ 400 in weekly unemployment benefits; $ 70 billion for Covid-19 vaccination and testing centers; $ 130 billion to help schools reopen safely; $ 15 billion in grants for small businesses; $ 350 billion in emergency funds for state, local and territorial governments; reinstatement of paid sick leave; and $ 15 billion to help states subsidize day care centers for low-income families, along with a $ 25 billion fund to help day care centers at risk of closure.
The first round of stimulus checks, which gave eligible American adults a one-time direct payment of $ 1,200 plus $ 500 for each child under 17, was part of the Aid, Aid and Economic Security Act (CARES) of $ 2.2 trillion from Congress passed in March 2020. A second round of $ 1,200 stimulus checks passed the HEROES Act in May, but the legislation stalled for months and the December package cut those direct payments half.
If you time your income tax return correctly, you can get a bigger stimulus check
Stuck in prison? See how to order your coronavirus stimulus test