$1400 Check Could be Coming Your Way Soon

February 22, 2021 by Reece Nations
$1400 Check Could be Coming Your Way Soon
The U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Dan McCue)

WASHINGTON — The House Budget Committee approved reconciliations to President Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion novel coronavirus relief legislation Monday, setting in motion the bill’s final vote in the full House of Representatives expected to follow this week. 

If enacted, the legislation would provide $1,400 economic stimulus payments for individuals making up to $75,000 annually and couples making up to $150,000 annually, according to the Associated Press. Currently, the bill would not provide stimulus payments for individuals with annual incomes of $100,000 or greater or for couples with annual incomes of $200,000 or greater.

Further, the bill would expand the child tax credit to $3,000 for certain households and $3,600 for children under the age of 6, TWN previously reported. Other provisions include increased eligibility for the earned income tax credit, and other credits that would reimburse employers for their employees’ paid sick leave. 

“From the start, we have been upfront that the sole purpose of the budget resolution was to provide the option of using reconciliation to deliver critical relief and enact the American Rescue Plan,” Committee Chairman John Yarmuth, D-Ky., said in his opening remarks. “That process has not precluded us from reaching a bipartisan agreement. But it has ensured that Congress can move forward and meet the needs of the American people with or without Republican cooperation.” 

House leadership intends to approve the bill and send it to the Senate before previously approved unemployment benefits expire on March 14, TWN previously reported. The committee’s approved version of the bill extends federal unemployment benefits through August. 

Ranking member Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., motioned early on to postpone debate on the bill until the White House’s Office of Management and Budget releases a detailed accounting of existing spent and unspent recovery funds. Smith’s motion failed by a vote of 14 in favor and 19 opposed. 

In his opening statement, Smith contended the bill would harm the country’s working-class by sending $510 billion to state and local governments “that only further reward state lockdowns.” 

“These lockdowns do not just hit a business’s bottom line or a family’s pocketbook,” Smith said. “When you board up local small businesses, you force kids out of school and parents out of work, (close) houses of worship, that can do real harm to the physical and mental health of individuals and families.” 

Smith warned congressional Democrats not to “shred the reconciliation process” by forcing through provisions mandating a federal wage hike to $15 an hour within the bill. In stating his objections, Smith cited the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate that the policy would reduce employment by 1.4 million workers. 

The expansion of unemployment benefits under the bill fails to adequately address the needs of low-wage, disabled and less-educated workers, he said. Smith also maintained that half of Americans would earn more money from unemployment benefits than working should the bill pass.

Congress should consider the potential long-term fiscal implications of passing such a large bill, Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, said. Because the bill would have an adverse effect on federal budget deficit spending, Feenstra said in opposition of the bill that Democrats are ignoring the “grave consequences of plunging our country into further debt.” 

“Let’s call this bill what it really is — a partisan wish list filled with progressive promises to Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi’s closest friends,” Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said. “Five-hundred billion is included for bailing out blue states and localities that mismanaged their budgets.”

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-profit and nonpartisan organization, concluded that increasing the public debt by almost $2 trillion to help mitigate the recession was a “worthwhile consequence,” TWN previously reported. However, CRFB warned in its findings this strategy presents inherent risks — like higher rates of inflation and shrinking the country’s economy by about $100 billion by the end of the decade while increasing the government’s amount of paid interest and principal on the debt. 

As staggering as the proposal’s $1.9 trillion price tag may be, more troubling is the nearly 500,000 domestic death toll wrought by COVID-19, Rep. Joseph Morelle, D-N.Y., said in defense of the bill. In his remarks before the committee, Morelle said leading economists across the political spectrum all agree the worst course of action Congress can take is to under-invest in COVID-19 recovery. 

But the bill’s presumptive passage by the Legislature comes at a desperate time for much of the country, Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Penn., said. In his remarks in defense of the bill, Boyle cited Gallup polling data indicating Biden’s proposal is widely popular among a majority of Americans. 

Boyle later motioned for the committee to report the bill to the House favorably and without substantive revision. Boyle’s motion passed by a margin of 19 in favor and 16 opposed. 

“Indeed, as Chairman Yarmuth pointed out in his opening, even a slight majority of Republicans support this plan,” Boyle said. “That’s because the American people know, regardless of party, that (the plan) is badly needed.” 

A+
a-
  • coronavirus relief package
  • House Budget Committee
  • Joe Biden
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Congress

    March 27, 2024
    by TWN Staff
    Rep. Cleaver New Co-Chair of House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., is the new Democratic co-chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., is the new Democratic co-chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus. He was invited to serve as co-chair by Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the co-chairs of the Senate Renewable Energy and Energy... Read More

    March 27, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    New Dem Chair Kuster Announces Retirement Following 2024 Election

    CONCORD, N.H. — Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., who, among other things, is the current chair of the New Democrat Coalition... Read More

    CONCORD, N.H. — Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., who, among other things, is the current chair of the New Democrat Coalition in the House, revealed Wednesday that she will not seek reelection to Congress this year. In a lengthy statement released by her office, Kuster gives no... Read More

    March 25, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    CPAC Releases Ranking of Most Conservative Members of Congress

    WASHINGTON — The Conservative Political Action Conference, also known as CPAC, on Monday released its annual ranking of members of... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Conservative Political Action Conference, also known as CPAC, on Monday released its annual ranking of members of the House and Senate based on their conservative bona fides or lack thereof. To produce this year’s scorecard, the CPAC foundation’s Center for Legislative Accountability analyzed... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    After a Decade on Capitol Hill, Brad Howard Steps Out on His Own

    WASHINGTON — After a decade on Capitol Hill, most recently as chief of staff for former Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla.,... Read More

    WASHINGTON — After a decade on Capitol Hill, most recently as chief of staff for former Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and communications director of the Blue Dog Coalition, Brad Howard knew it was time for change. “It was time to move into the private sector,” he... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Greene Files Motion to Vacate Speaker’s Chair

    WASHINGTON — For the second time in five months, a member of the Republican Conference in the House has filed... Read More

    WASHINGTON — For the second time in five months, a member of the Republican Conference in the House has filed a motion to vacate the chair of the party’s speaker. But this time, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., says the motion is intended merely as a... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Gallagher to Leave Congress April 19

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who already announced he would not seek reelection, surprised many on Capitol Hill on... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who already announced he would not seek reelection, surprised many on Capitol Hill on Friday by announcing he plans to leave April 19, several months before his current term is up. Gallagher’s impending departure will further shrink the razor-thin Republican... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top