Next stimulus payments could be days away

The American Rescue Plan’s $1,400 stimulus checks could be headed to Americans in a few days, depending how soon President Joe Biden signs the bill.

After laboring all night on a mountain of amendments — nearly all from Republicans and rejected — bleary-eyed senators approved the $1.9 trillion package Saturday on a 50-49 party-line vote.

That sets up final congressional approval by the House expected Tuesday so lawmakers can whisk it to Biden for his signature. That could come later Tuesday or Wednesday.

Turning out direct payments to paper checks to American households could run from a few days to weeks.

Full checks for those who make up to $75K a year

In both versions of the bill, individual tax filers making up to $75,000 per year will get $1,400. Couples making up to $150,000 will get $2,800. There will also be $1,400 tacked on for each dependent in the household.

In the House version that was passed, the money paid out phases to zero at $100,000 income for individuals and $200,000 for couples. But in the Senate version, it phased out at $80,000 and $160,000, respectively.

Because of those changes and other amendments in the Senate version of the bill, the plan goes back to the House. Representatives must vote on the Senate version or the two chambers may hold a conference to come to some middle ground.

Roughly 8 million fewer households will get a check under the Senate bill compared with what the House passed, according to an analysis from the Tax Policy Center.

Less than a month of household bills

The $1,400 payments (there will be exceptions based on income) will cover less than a month of an average American household’s bills, according to doxo.

The average household spends $22,668 per year, or $1,889 per month on 10 primary household bill payment categories.

While the $1,400 amount is the largest pandemic-related stimulus check to date, doxo’s data shows that the typical household will see less than one month of coverage (just 22 days on average) for their most essential household bills.

Even though the relief is short-term, doxo’s latest survey of household bill payers indicates very strong support from consumers. An encouraging nine in 10 people believe the stimulus checks will make a positive impact on them personally. Although the $1,400 will help, household finances are still severely stressed, with 41% of consumers expecting it to take more than a year for their financial health to return to pre-pandemic levels.

“While it can be disheartening to see the math around how far the stimulus check will stretch when it comes to household bills, every little bit helps Americans during these tough times,” said Jim Kreyenhagen, vice president of marketing and consumer services at doxo. “While it may be short-term relief, our survey data shows that the vast majority of Americans believe the stimulus checks will help improve their own financial health in 2021.”

5 earlier measures

The measure follows five earlier ones totaling about $4 trillion enacted since last spring and comes amid signs of a potential turnaround.

Vaccine supplies are growing, deaths and caseloads have eased but remain frighteningly high, and hiring was surprisingly strong last month, though the economy remains 10 million jobs smaller than pre-pandemic levels.

The Senate package was delayed repeatedly as Democrats made eleventh-hour changes aimed at balancing demands by their competing moderate and progressive factions.

Work on the bill ground to a halt Friday after an agreement among Democrats on extending emergency jobless benefits seemed to collapse. Nearly 12 hours later, top Democrats and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, perhaps the chamber’s most conservative Democrat, said they had a deal, and the Senate approved it on a party-line 50-49 vote.

Under their compromise, $300 weekly emergency unemployment checks — on top of regular state benefits — would be renewed, with a final payment Sept. 6. There would also be tax breaks on some of that aid, helping people the pandemic abruptly tossed out of jobs and risked tax penalties on the benefits.

The House relief bill, largely similar to the Senate’s, provided $400 weekly benefits through August. The current $300 per week payments expire March 14, and Democrats want the bill on Biden’s desk by then to avert a lapse.

Manchin and Republicans have asserted that higher jobless benefits discourage people from returning to work, a rationale most Democrats and many economists reject.

The agreement on jobless benefits wasn’t the only move that showed moderates’ sway.

$15 minimum wage portion defeated

The Senate voted Friday to eject a House-approved boost in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, a major defeat for progressives. Eight Democrats opposed the increase, suggesting that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and other liberals pledging to continue the effort will face a difficult fight.

Party leaders also agreed to restrict eligibility for the $1,400 stimulus checks for most Americans. That amount would be gradually reduced until, under the Senate bill, it reaches zero for people earning $80,000 and couples making $160,000. Those ceilings were higher in the House version.

Many of the rejected GOP amendments were either attempts to force Democrats to cast politically awkward votes or for Republicans to demonstrate their zeal for issues that appeal to their voters.

These included defeated efforts to bar funds from going to schools that don’t reopen their doors or let transgender students born male participate in female sports. One amendment would have blocked aid to so-called sanctuary cities, where local authorities don’t help federal officials round up immigrants in the U.S. illegally.