Fewer will get COVID checks with Senate bill
Democratic leaders agree to target a smaller number of Americans for $1,400 relief payments.
WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic leaders and President Biden have agreed to more narrowly target which Americans would be eligible for a $1,400 stimulus payment in the latest COVID-19 relief measure.
To ease the bill’s way with moderate Senate Democrats, the proposed new version allows single filers with annual income under $75,000 to receive the full amount, phasing it out entirely for those with incomes of $80,000 and higher.
Joint filers with an annual total income of less than $150,000 would each receive the full amount, but those above $160,000 would get no check. Those filing as a head of household who make less than $112,500 will get the full amount, phasing out at $120,000.
Tens of millions of Americans are still expected to get a check, but fewer will receive one than under the version passed last week by the House. Under that bill, payments phased out at $100,000 for individuals, $200,000 for couples and $150,000 for heads of households.
“I think it’s an appropriate way of bringing this to a successful conclusion,” Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said.
Not every Democrat was immediately on board with the proposed change.
“People desperately need resources, and we need to get these checks out the door,” Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said. “I think the package as it was originally crafted is good to go.”
White House Press Sec
retary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that Biden also would have preferred the higher income threshold in the House bill, but understands that compromise is needed.
“He is hopeful this is a package that Democrats of all political backgrounds can get behind,” Psaki said.
Senate Democrats were expected to present their final version of the $1.9-trillion economic aid bill later Wednesday evening, but were waiting on cost estimates before proceeding. Presentation of the bill in the Senate is expected to kick off a marathon slog against Republican opposition so the measure can be approved and sent back to the House by next week.
Republicans appear resigned that they lack the votes to block the package, but are pledging to use every tactic at their disposal to delay it.
As part of the new proposal, Senate Democrats would maintain the $400 weekly federal unemployment supplement that Biden requested and the House passed, rather than dropping it to $300, as some moderates requested.
Another notable change from the House version will be removing language that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised last week that because Democrats are using a special budget reconciliation process to move the bill quickly without Republican support, they cannot include such policy changes.
Another option under consideration was to provide the expanded federal unemployment aid through September, rather than ending it in August.
The bill also includes billions of dollars for COVID-19 vaccines and coronavirus testing, as well as for schools and state and local governments; a quarter of a trillion dollars in emergency jobless benefits; and targeted aid to the ailing restaurant and airline industries.
Republicans have called the bill too expensive and say it doesn’t spend enough on directly fighting the disease or reopening schools and businesses. They’ve complained that the package includes Democratic priorities they say are unrelated to the virus, such as transit projects in Silicon Valley and New York, and shoring up state and local government budgets.
Both transit projects were removed from the bill Tuesday evening.
Once the Senate moves to pass the bill, there will be up to 20 hours of debate, equally divided between the two sides, including potential amendments to the bill. Some Republicans are considering insisting on hearing the full bill be read aloud, which could take an additional 10 hours.
Then begins what is called a vote-a-rama, in which senators can offer hundreds of amendments to the bill. There’s no time limit, so this process could last into the early hours of the morning, until opposing senators tire and give up. Republicans upset with the relief package are expected to submit the majority of amendments as a stalling technique, potentially dragging this stage out for days. Democrats probably have the votes to reject the amendments.
“We’ll be fighting this in every way that we can,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said. “It is my hope that at the end, the Senate Republicans will unanimously oppose it, just like House Republicans did.”
That prospect remains unclear. Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski told reporters Wednesday that she was keeping an open mind and would listen to the debate before deciding how to vote.
“I can’t stand the fact that after everything that we’ve moved through last year, that we are considering $1.9 trillion that is not specifically focused — much of which is not specifically focused — on COVID relief,” Murkowski said. “But I’m coming from a state where people are saying, ‘We need some help, Lisa.’ ”
She said she had been working to remove “excess” from the bill “to make it better.”
Senate passage of the bill could occur Friday or Saturday, depending on how successful the GOP’s delay tactics are. It takes a simple majority vote to pass a reconciliation bill, meaning the chamber’s 48 Democrats and two independents can do it on their own, with a tiebreaking assist from Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I expect a hearty debate. I expect some late nights on the floor,” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters. “But the American people are overwhelmingly in support of this legislation.”
One of the moderates that Senate leaders are hoping to placate, Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), said Wednesday that he would reserve judgment until he could examine the final proposal. “I just think that the bill has really enough good stuff ... that we should be able to make this work — we really should,” Manchin said. “I’m very pleased with the discussions and dialogues and some changes that have been agreed upon.”
Due to the Senate changes, the House will need to approve the revised version before sending it to Biden’s desk.
Democrats are rushing to get the bill to the president before expanded unemployment benefits end March 14, possibly cutting off aid to up to 10 million Americans. To meet that deadline, the House would have to accept whatever changes the Senate makes to the bill.
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said that the House had worked with the Senate in writing the version it passed, and that he wasn’t concerned about changes the Senate might make.
“I can’t believe that any amendment that the Senate could adopt, with the complement in the Senate at this point in time, would be an amendment so egregious that the House would not vote for it,” he said.
Several progressive lawmakers have said they want to see details on how many fewer Americans will get a check before deciding whether the proposed change would affect their support. For many, the biggest priority was to maintain the $400 unemployment subsidy.
“If this is the only change, that’s one thing,” said Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). “If there are other changes, that’s going to be a different thing.”