Relief on the way
$1.9T stim set to pass without GOP votes
Democrats in the House of Representatives are expected to pass a $1.9 trillion relief bill — including checks of up to $1,400 for many Americans — by the end of the week, according to reports.
President Biden urged Republicans to back the legislation over the weekend, though Democrats have enough votes to pass the package without GOP support.
Polling shows widespread support for another round of stimulus, after the feds spent about $4 trillion on coronavirus relief in 2020.
More than seven in 10 Americans support Biden’s proposal, according to a recent New York Times-SurveyMonkey poll.
“After a really long political season that went all the way into 2021, people just want results,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told Politico last week.
Relief checks in the legislation would mark the third round of payments from the government since the coronavirus pandemic began.
House Democrats want to send $1,400 checks to individuals earning up to $75,000 and $2,800 payments to married couples making up to $150,000, according to The Washington Post.
Conservatives and some moderates have discussed limiting the full payments to individuals making $50,000 or less, though many Democrats have said they oppose narrowing the eligibility criteria.
“There is a discussion right now about what that threshold will look like. A conclusion has not been finalized,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last week.
Another area of disagreement centers on raising the federal minimum wage. While Biden wants to raise the rate to $15 per hour, he recently told governors he doesn’t expect that to come in the stimulus bill.
“I really want this in there, but it just doesn’t look like we can do it,” Politico quoted the president as saying.
He blamed that on “reconciliation” — the legislative tool the Senate is expected to use to pass the budget with a simple majority of 50 plus Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote.
Under Senate rules, reconciliation can only be used for bills that affect certain areas like federal spending. It’s not clear whether a minimum-wage change would qualify.
The latest relief bill comes as federal unemployment benefits are set to expire March 14.
Previous legislation provided an extra $300 a week to outof-work Americans. Biden’s $1.9 trillion bill would increase the boost to $400.
There’s also $350 billion for struggling localities — including some $50 billion for New York — and $160 billion for vaccines, testing and related areas.
“The Senate is on track to send a robust $1.9 trillion package to the president’s desk before the March 14 expiration of unemployment insurance benefits. We will meet this deadline,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote in a Friday letter to colleagues, according to The Washington Post.