‘HISTORIC, HISTORIC VICTORY’
House OK’s $1.9T virus relief package, $1,400 stimulus checks
House Ways and Means Chairman U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said the ‘seismic’ legislation delivers ‘much-needed help and relief.’
Another round of stimulus checks are poised to go out to most Americans after a divided U.S. House put its final stamp of approval on President Biden’s “seismic” $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which would also send $8.1 billion to Massachusetts.
All that’s left is for Biden to sign off on his “American Rescue Plan” before $1,400 stimulus checks can start flowing. Biden is expected to sign the bill Friday and then hit the road to promote it.
“This bill represents a historic, historic victory for the American people,” Biden said Wednesday.
House Democrats overrode Republicans’ objections to hand Biden his first major legislative victory as president. The vote was 220211, with one Democrat, U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voting against the measure.
The stimulus plan was popular with the public. But Republicans have decried its “non-COVID waste.”
MassGOP Chairman Jim Lyons on Wednesday blasted Democrats for “using a difficult time to take care of their own radical special interests.”
Biden’s relief plan provides $1,400 checks to individuals earning less than $75,000, heads of households earning less than $112,500 and married couples earning less than $150,000. Phase-outs begin after that, cutting off completely at $80,000 for individuals, $120,000 for heads of households and $160,000 for couples.
Federal jobless payments of $300 per week would be extended through Sept. 6. Child tax credits would also increase.
GOP Gov. Charlie Baker said the plan’s passage weeks before unemployment benefits were set to run out means there can now be a “relatively smooth transition” and called it a “big deal for a lot of people.”
The relief package also includes $25 billion in a new Restaurant Revitalization Fund and $170 billion to help K-12 schools and higher-education institutions reopen safely.
U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss lauded the stimulus package for “laying the foundation for a strong recovery” and helping to get kids back into schools safely.
House Ways and Means Chairman U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said the “seismic” legislation delivers “muchneeded help and relief.”
Massachusetts is poised to receive about $8.1 billion under the plan, with $4.5 billion for the state and nearly $3.7 billion for local governments. Metro cities would receive about $1.7 billion, of which Boston would get $434 million, according to figures from Neal’s office.
Massachusetts House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz said that after last year’s CARES Act helped the state respond to the immediate emergencies of the pandemic, the new round of funding will aid public health and economic recovery in the months to come.
“It’s honestly a significant amount of money,” Michlewitz said. “It will certainly help set us on a course that will give us some flexibility in terms of how we can build back our economy.”
U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch said it’ll be about 60 days before checks go out to municipalities, but that mayors in his district from Boston to the South Shore are “eager” to “start to address some of the gaps that have been created over the last year.”
The stimulus plan ultimately passed without the $15 minimum wage hike sought by many Democrats.
“I’m not shocked we didn’t get every single thing we wanted. We can still work on the $15 an hour minimum wage,” Lynch said. “I accept what was necessary to compromise on in the Senate in order to go forward because I think there is huge benefit to this bill.”
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley doubled down on her calls to raise the minimum wage and provide “robust paid leave protections” in a statement, adding, “Our workers and families deserve it.”