In mid-February House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, noted that the House will bring the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill crafted by President Joe Biden to be voted on by the end of February, but why such a sense of urgency? Federal unemployment benefits are set to expire on March 14th and those in support of the bill are hoping to have Biden sign it into law before those benefits lapse.
Here is what we know about the bill (so far):
Democrats are looking to use a legislative tool called budget reconciliation; this would help eliminate barriers that the Republicans could pose and, as a result, slow or eliminate the vote. This process has set requirements though, and the House and Senate are working to see which parts of the bill can and cannot be included. For example, as it stands now, we are unsure if the increase in minimum wage can be apart of the budget reconciliation bill, so that may have to work through Congress at a later date.
When Biden unveiled his American Rescue Plan back in January, he promised to send out $1,400 to the American people. In late January, a group of Senate Republicans attempted to work with Democrats to lower the income requirements to receive the third stimulus check, Biden rejected that offer stating, “Congress must respond boldly and urgently.”
The third round of stimulus checks will use the same requirements as we saw with the first two; individuals with an adjusted gross income (or AGI) of $100,000 a year would be excluded from receiving any stimulus payment. The same goes for heads of households earning $150,000 a year and couples earning more than $200,000.
If the House and Senate keep the schedule Pelosi set forth, stimulus payments could be sent out via the IRS as soon as the 3rd week of March.
Like the first two rounds, the IRS will use the U.S. federal tax system to determine who gets and how much stimulus is received. What is not known right now is if they will use the 2019 or 2020 tax filings, many experts are saying if you made LESS in 2020 to file sooner than you normally would, and if you made MORE to maybe hold of until mid-March to file.
This bill will also expand to a few groups that were left out of the first two rounds of stimulus: dependents of any age and mixed-status citizenship.
Aside from the stimulus checks the bill *could* also include:
Renewal of the Paycheck Protection Program for small-business loans
Food aid benefits for families
Funding to help schools to reopen
Restaurant relief
Funding for public transit and airports
An extension of a $400-a-week increase to federal unemployment benefits through the end of August
An expansion of the child tax credit, that includes an increase to $3,600 per child and a shift to it being delivered as a monthly payment
Expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit
Additional funding for vaccine distribution
Expansion of subsidies under the Affordable Care Act for health insurance
Expansion of health insurance for the unemployed through COBRA health insurance law subsidies
An increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025
Aid for both state and local governments
With so many moving parts in this bill and all the details and fine print exceptions, it can be confusing and unclear to determine if you and/or your dependents are eligible and if you are eligible, how much can you expect to receive and when. The good new is Congress looks to be moving things along very fast so as more details come out in the coming days things should begin to look a lot more clear.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2020/12/21/948744901/here-is-whats-in-congress-covid-19-relief-package
About the Author: Taylor Genter Taylor is the Marketing Specialist at Extract with experience in data analytics, graphic design, and both digital and social media marketing. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing at the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater. Taylor enjoys analyzing people’s behaviors and attitudes to find out what motivates them, and then curating better ways to communicate with them.