Over nine months after qualifying Americans received the CARE act’s $1200 dollar stimulus, congress has agreed to a second package which is now under review by congressional lawyers before being sent to President Trump to sign.
This package is reported to cost over $900 billion dollars and will issue eligible Americans $600 as soon as next week. Individuals with an adjusted gross income of up to $75,000 a year on their 2019 returns will receive $600. Heads of households and couples who earn up to $150,000 will get $1200, and those with dependent children (under 17) will receive $600 for each child. Washingtonpost.com has a stimulus calculator where you can find out how much you will be eligible for.
The package will also extend unemployment benefits through March 2021 and reinstate the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation benefit on top at $300 a week instead of the previous $600.
Top congressional leaders said earlier this week that both parties have had to set aside some of the more contentious points that were holding up a deal being made. For republicans, this meant liability protections. For democrats, direct payment streams to local and state governments. Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stated that while these sticking points had to be left out, this will not be the last COVID package to pass through congress, so they will be revisited.
“Yes, there is more work to do,” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said Monday, “and it will cost some money, but it will protect jobs and, most importantly, it will meet the needs of the American people – to crush this virus and to do so in a way that brings us all into the future in a very safe way.”
The package also contains funding for federal agencies through next year and $325 billion in business relief. It also expands food stamp programs, allocates funding to transportation departments and has $8.5 billion dollars to distribute vaccines. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC “ The direct payments get into the economy very quickly. This is a large bill, and it has a little bit of everything for everybody.”
Critics complain that this stimulus package is not enough, especially after months of uncertainty and less help than other developed governments have offered their citizens. The restaurant industry in particular, which has been hit especially hard during the pandemic, were “unimpressed with the provisions in the new stimulus bill,” reports the Washington post. The independent restaurant coalition released a statement laying out concerns: “This bill falls woefully short of giving 11 million independent restaurant workers the job security they need before the holidays. Congress understands that dining restrictions, a surging pandemic and winter weather are a perfect storm for a restaurant employment crisis that is disproportionately impacting single mothers, people of color, immigrants, the formerly incarcerated and young people.” The National Restaurant Association expressed that it views the deal as a good “first step” but not adequate to meet the needs of those affected.
President-Elect Joe Biden spoke Tuesday about the package and congratulated congress for “doing their job”. Biden reiterated how most are feeling about the stimulus saying, “This is just the first step. A down payment,” and made promises that on his first day in office he will be using the office of the president to address COVID.
