The plan will send direct payments of up to $1,400 to most Americans. Direct deposits will start hitting Americans’ bank accounts as soon as this weekend, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.
The bill will also extend a $300 per week unemployment insurance boost until Sept. 6 and expand the child tax credit for a year. It will also put nearly $20 billion into Covid-19 vaccinations, $25 billion into rental and utility assistance, and $350 billion into state, local and tribal relief.
Here are the proposal’s major pieces:
· It extends a $300 per week jobless aid supplement and programs making millions more people eligible for unemployment insurance until Sept. 6. The plan also makes an individual’s first $10,200 in jobless benefits tax-free.
· The bill sends $1,400 direct payments to most Americans and their dependents. The checks start to phase out at $75,000 in income for individuals and are capped at people who make $80,000. The thresholds for joint filers are double those limits. The government will base eligibility on Americans’ most recent filed tax return.
· It expands the child tax credit for one year. It will increase to $3,600 for children under 6 and to $3,000 for kids between 6 and 17.
· The plan puts about $20 billion into Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing and distribution, along with roughly $50 billion into testing and contact tracing.
· It adds $25 billion in rental and utility assistance and about $10 billion for mortgage aid.
· The plan offers $350 billion in relief to state, local and tribal governments.
· The proposal directs more than $120 billion to K-12 schools.
· It increases the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit by 15% through September.
· The bill includes an expansion of subsidies and other provisions to help Americans afford health insurance.
· It offers nearly $30 billion in aid to restaurants.
· The legislation expands an employee retention tax credit designed to allow companies to keep workers on payroll.
The bill passed the House by a 220-211 margin without a Republican vote, as the GOP argues the job market has recovered enough to warrant little or no new stimulus spending. One Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, opposed it. Democrats also approved the plan on their own in the Senate through the special budget reconciliation process.
Still, 8.5 million fewer Americans held jobs during the month than did a year before. Black and Hispanic or Latino women have regained a smaller share of pre-pandemic employment than any other groups, according to government data.
More than 18 million people were receiving some form of unemployment benefits as of mid-February.
Some economists and GOP lawmakers have warned about the potential for massive spending to increase inflation.
Reference: CNBC
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