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- Biden has said he’s ready to adjust income thresholds for stimulus checks as part of negotiations on the latest coronavirus relief plan.
- “There are legitimate reasons for people to say, ‘Do you have the lines drawn exactly the right way? Should it go to anyone who earns more than X dollars? I am open to negotiating these things,” Biden said. .
- He also did not rule out recourse to reconciliation, but said “time is running out” as relief negotiations begin.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
President Joe Biden said on Monday he was ready to change income thresholds for a new wave of stimulus checks for Americans, a key demand from some moderate senators reluctant to back his bailout.
“People have legitimate reasons for saying, ‘Do you have the lines drawn exactly the right way? Should it go to anyone who earns more than $ 10 or why? “Biden said at a press conference.” I am open to negotiating these things. “
Biden said he included more stimulus checks in his $ 1.9 trillion proposal because they drew support from Democrats and some Republicans last year. Former President Donald Trump demanded more money in a last-minute frenzied push in December.
The president said he was hesitant to “pick” provisions that could be turned into a smaller emergency spending plan, saying they were going “hand in hand”. He insisted that “time is running out”.
The remarks indicate that Biden is ready to tweak elements of his bailout program to gain GOP support, although he has not gone into more detail on the parameters of a third wave of verifications. His plan includes provision for an additional $ 1,400 to $ 600 in checks sent out in December, bringing the total to $ 2,000 for many taxpayers.
Last year, Congress passed a pandemic relief package that included stimulus payments of $ 1,200. People earning up to $ 75,000 were eligible for the full check, and the amount was gradually reduced until the $ 99,000 deadline. Married couples earning up to $ 150,000 also received the federal payment.
Some economists have criticized stimulus checks because they are also sent to higher wage earners who have not lost their jobs. The House approved a plan for $ 2,000 checks in December, and the higher amount in cash means the income thresholds are higher. For example, payments would be waived entirely for single adults earning $ 115,000.
Republicans are lining up against the Biden package, including key centrists like Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Senator Mitt Romney of Utah. The two are part of a bipartisan group of 16 senators that held a weekend of conversation with the White House about the bailout. They raised concerns about stimulus payments for affluent Americans.
Biden hasn’t ruled out using a budget process called reconciliation to bypass Republicans and pass a bailout in an online majority vote.
“The decision to use reconciliation will depend on how these negotiations go,” he said. “I don’t expect that we will know if we have an agreement or to what extent the whole package can be passed or not until we come to the very end of this process, which will probably take place. in two weeks. “
Renewed federal aid is increasingly likely not to be approved for several weeks. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that Congress would have to approve another government bailout by mid-March to avoid a disruption in unemployment benefits for millions of Americans.
“There is an urgent need to get things done and he certainly believes that progress needs to be made in the coming weeks,” Psaki said. The spokesperson also referred to the “unemployment cliff” in mid-March as an apparent deadline for legislative action.
Congress passed a $ 900 billion economic aid plan last month to renew these federal measures. Currently, around 11.4 million people are receiving benefits from all programs which begin to expire on March 14.
Unemployed experts say that Congress must step in with an extension to avoid another default by February 14.
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