[ad_1]
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Democrats on Monday proposed an additional $ 1,400 in direct payments to individuals as Congress began to assemble a $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that follows the president’s plan Joe Biden to fight the pandemic and revive an economy still in turmoil.
Democrats’ Ways and Means Committee would expand tax credits for families with children, for low-income people and people who buy health insurance in the markets created by the Affordable Care Act 2010. The panel, which expects to approve the measure by the end of the week, would also provide healthcare subsidies for some unemployed.
Less than three weeks after starting his presidency, Biden said beating the virus and resuscitating the economy were his top priorities. The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 460,000 Americans while the economy has lost 10 million jobs since the crisis began last year.
On Monday, the unveiling of his part of the package – at more than $ 900 billion, almost half of Biden’s entire plan – came with Democratic leaders in Congress hoping to rush legislation to the president for his signing of ‘by mid-March, when existing emergency unemployment benefits expire. Their platform reflects the desire of Biden and the Congressional Democrats to show that they can respond quickly and decisively to the crisis, even if, as seems likely, they must overcome strong Republican opposition.
“While we still hope that Republicans will join us in doing good through the American people, the urgency of the moment demands that we act without further delay,” said Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, D- Mass.
Texas Representative Kevin Brady, senior Republican on this committee, criticized Democrats for pushing forward the massive measure “without bipartisan compromise.” He said the GOP wanted to focus on vaccine delivery and more targeted relief for workers, families and small businesses – essentially a look at the amendments Republicans are expected to come up with in committee votes this week, including some could win the support of Democrats.
Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee also presented their plans on Monday. Their $ 350 billion package includes $ 130 billion to help schools reopen safely, $ 40 billion for pandemic-stricken colleges and a plan to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour . The minimum wage hike is facing a skyrocketing, and even Biden admitted it probably won’t survive.
The Financial Services Committee’s proposal includes $ 50 billion to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency manage the costs of the pandemic, plus $ 25 billion for distressed rental property owners and those at risk of roaming. The spending by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee would include $ 30 billion in subsidies for struggling transit agencies with significantly reduced ridership.
Democrats have only narrow majorities in the House and Senate. Along with the Republican opposition that could win unanimous support, Democrats will need to balance party moderates worried about a package going too far and progressives keen to push Biden as far to the left as possible.
In a potential battleground within the party, Ways and Means Democrats have proposed limiting all relief payments of $ 1,400 to people earning $ 75,000 or less, and phasing them out until then. that they end completely at $ 100,000. Couples earning up to $ 150,000 would be entitled to relief payments of $ 2,800, which would gradually decline and disappear altogether for those earning $ 200,000.
The income levels at which people can claim out-of-pocket payments have caused divisions among Democrats, with moderates arguing that aid should be more narrowly targeted to those most in need. Biden said he would not allow per person payments to fall below $ 1,400, but indicated flexibility on income thresholds.
“There is currently a discussion about what this threshold will look like. A conclusion has not been finalized, ”said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Congress approved direct payments of $ 600 per person in December. The additional $ 1,400 would bring the total to $ 2,000. Democrats demanded that amount for months, and it garnered support from then-President Donald Trump in his unsuccessful re-election campaign, even as many Republicans in Congress opposed it.
The Ways and Means proposal would increase emergency unemployment assistance to $ 400 per week from the current $ 300. Benefits would last until August 29, instead of March 14 as planned.
The plan would fight child poverty by increasing the family child tax credit for one year. Now at a maximum of $ 2,000 per year, it would reach up to $ 3,600 per child under 6 and up to $ 3,000 for children under 17. current policy.
The bill also provides several avenues for people to get and keep health insurance, including an early test of Biden’s commitment to building on Obama’s health care law.
A section would soften subsidies under former President Barack Obama’s health care law. The Biden administration has already announced a special three-month enrollment period for ACA coverage starting next Monday. The more generous financial assistance in the House bill would be available for this year and next.
The bill would also cover 85% of the cost of premiums for workers who try to keep their occupational health insurance after being made redundant. A federal law known as COBRA already allows them to temporarily retain their former employer’s health plan, but they usually have to pay prohibitive premiums. Help would be available until September 30.
For working without children, the plan proposes a significant extension of the earned income tax credit – a refundable credit currently claimed by taxpayers who earn an average of $ 20,000 a year. The EITC is considered by its promoters as a major tool in the fight against poverty for workers.
The law calls for the maximum credit for childless workers to be almost tripled and for eligibility to be expanded.
Details of the bills were announced in a non-partisan Congressional Budget Office report that raising the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour would increase unemployment, even if it raised the wages of millions of workers.
Progressives like Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Author of the minimum wage legislation, want Democrats to fight for it now. He faces opposition from the GOP and some moderate Democrats fear it will hurt small businesses during the pandemic.
___
Associated Press editors Marcy Gordon in Washington and Collin Binkley in Boston contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link