House of Representatives approves Biden's 'coronavirus' financial aid: what's next

The US House of Representatives has adopted a financial aid package in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, proposed by US President Joe Biden in the amount of $ 1,9 trillion, which includes direct payments to Americans at $ 1. Now the package is to be voted on in the Senate. The edition told in more detail CNBC.

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Who can receive payments

Of Biden's $ 1,9 trillion bailout plan, about $ 465 billion will go directly to Americans' wallets.

The bonus per dependent will be $ 1 and will apply to all dependents. Previously, parents or guardians could only qualify for the payment for dependents under the age of 400. Now the payment may be claimed for college students, adults with disabilities, and other dependent adults.

The income criteria for receiving payments will remain the same as the requirements for payments started in December of $ 600.

Payments will begin to phase out for those whose adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds $75 a year for single filers and $000 for married couples filing jointly. Payments will be phased out and will end for people earning more than $150 and couples earning more than $000. These thresholds may change depending on the number of dependents in the household.

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Income will be assessed according to the last tax return, that is, for 2019 or for 2020, depending on the timing of the approval of the payment package.

Some families will receive up to $ 14

According to Ed Mills, Washington-based analyst for Raymond James, some American families can get up to $ 14. Fox Business.

According to the proposed payment plan, most American parents will receive $ 3 per year for each child aged 000 to 6 and $ 17 per year for each child under 3... Families are generally eligible for refundable tax credits of up to $ 2000 per year per child. Republicans doubled this amount in 2017 with the adoption of the Law on Tax Cuts and Employment.

In his analysis, Mills outlined how up to $ 14 can be raised: A family of four earning less than $ 000 will receive $ 150 ($ 000 each) on top of the $ 5 they received in December. According to Mills, the total financial assistance to them will be $ 600.

The same family can get from $ 6 to $ 000 under the renewed child tax credit, which will begin to be paid monthly from July.

“This support from the federal government is not offset by any tax increases, as its purpose is to stimulate the economy,” Mills wrote. “We are in the middle of a new financial experiment.”

Senate vote

The aid plan includes, among other things, expanding programs designed to subsidize millions of unemployed Americans, and providing financial support to state and local governments.

“The bill now heads to the United States Senate, where I hope it will be promptly passed. We don't have time to waste," Biden said.

“If we act now decisively, quickly and boldly, we can finally get ahead of this virus,” Biden continued. “We can finally get our economy going again.”

With the Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, lawmakers next week will start proposing amendments to the House plan and will likely pass a different version of the bill (requires at least 60 votes to pass).

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If this happens, the House will have to accept the Senate version, or the two Houses will have to meet to draft a final acceptable document.

But some Democrats oppose the passage of such an expensive bill.

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia is more likely to vote against the bailout package.

Manchin questioned the fate of the additional payments on January 8, before Biden's inauguration.

The conservative Democrat said he was "strongly" against another round of direct payments, but later explained in a tweet: "If the next round of payments takes place, they should be addressed to those who really need them."

Speaking in favor of the bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stressed that millions of Americans remain in dire economic straits.

“This is a once-in-a-century health and economic crisis,” he tweeted. “But Republican leaders are reportedly 'maneuvering' to force every Republican member to oppose urgent passage of COVID-19 relief.”

Democrats have a slim majority in both the House and Senate, and they've decided to try to push Biden's plan through a process known as budget negotiation. The reconciliation allows a party to pass a bill with a simple majority, but limits what can be included in it to items that have a significant impact on the federal deficit.

Minimal salary

In addition, an important point in the bill is to raise federal wages to a minimum of $ 15 per hour.

There were both supporters of such an increase and opponents in the Senate. One senator said wage increases could not be included in any bill to be negotiated.

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This underlines the fragility of the structure of the Senate bill, where even one clause could doom Biden's first landmark bill.

Other senators, notably Bernie Sanders, have instead redoubled their commitment to progressive priorities like raising the minimum wage.

He and Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wieden are working on an amendment to the bill that would penalize large corporations that pay their employees less than $ 15 an hour.

Democrats are rushing to send the document to Biden by March 14, when the deadline for the payment of unemployment benefits expires, but negotiations in the Senate could drag on for longer.

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