House Democrats on Monday unveiled important parts of their coronavirus aid package, including a section that would provide checks for $ 1,400 to most Americans.
As in previous rounds of direct payments, single taxpayers with an annual income of up to $ 75,000 and couples who earn up to $ 150,000 qualify for full payment amounts.
However, payment amounts above these limits would be eliminated at a faster rate than payments for the first two rounds. Single registrars with an income above $ 100,000 and couples with an income above $ 200,000 would not be entitled to any payment.
The release of the bill’s text came after legislators and economists debated what the income eligibility requirements for payments should be.
Republicans and some centrist Democrats argued that payments should be more targeted at low-income families because those families are the ones that most need help and are likely to spend money quickly. But progressives argued that income requirements should not be restricted so that people who lost substantial amounts of income during the pandemic could quickly receive their payments.
Eligible families could receive payments of up to $ 1,400 per person, including for adult dependents, who were left out of previous rounds. The bill instructs the Department of the Treasury to issue payments to people based on their 2019 or 2020 tax returns and allows the department to make payments to non-taxpayers based on available information.
Direct payments are one of the many parts of the package released by the Chamber’s Ways and Means Committee. The package is based on a $ 1.9 trillion plan that President bidenJoe BidenDemocrats say Trump’s impeachment defense ‘totally without merit’ A US-Israel defense treaty has benefits – and endangers the White House: Biden won’t waste much time watching Trump’s impeachment trial MORE proposed in January.
The Joint Taxation Committee estimates that the new round of checks would cost $ 422 billion.
The legislation would also extend federal unemployment programs, which are currently due to expire in March, until the end of August, and increase the federal unemployment insurance incentive from $ 300 a week to $ 400 a week. Biden had proposed extending the programs until September.
In addition, the package includes a one-year expansion of the child tax credit, making the credit fully refundable and increasing the credit amount to $ 3,600 for children under 6 and $ 3,000 for other children. It directs the Treasury to issue credit advances, preferably monthly, starting in July. The package also includes one-year expansions of the labor income tax credit and the child and dependent care tax credit.
The Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to consider its parts of the aid package as of Wednesday, which the President Richard NealRichard Edmund’s NealHouse Dems COVID-19 Relief Project Includes 2-Year Increase For ObamaCare Grants NO MONEY: CBO Estimate Waves | Democrats to expand tax credit for children | Wyden wields power. House Dems COVID-19 aid account includes 400 MORE checks (D-Mass) considered it “a crucial step to face this challenge and show the country that aid is on the way”.
“From increasing direct assistance to those who need it most to expanding tax credits for low- and middle-income workers, we offer substantial solutions in this package,” said Neal in a statement.
Updated at 19:05