President Biden and Congress are in the process of negotiating the third, $1400 stimulus checks included in Biden’s latest proposal, which Republicans (and some centrist Democrats) have criticized as too high. White House officials said today that Biden is open to negotiating income thresholds for the checks, but remains committed to sending $1400 checks to most Americans. Here's the latest.
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Will Stimulus Check Amounts Be Reduced?
Republicans have proposed a counter stimulus plan that would reduce the stimulus checks to $1000 rather than $1400, which Biden has roundly refused, saying that it would start his administration “with a broken promise."
With Democrats in control of both houses of Congress, Biden doesn’t have to concede much to Republican pressure. However, the president stated that he is open to negotiating on the income level thresholds of the stimulus checks, just not the amount. Negotiating with Republicans could help Biden pass the bill faster.
What Is the Potential Earning Cutoffs for the New Stimulus Checks?
Biden’s current proposal would send $1400 checks to Americans earning $75,000 or less. The Republican proposal, however, would taper off the checks for those earning more than $50,000. Preliminary calculations show that about 80 million fewer people would receive funds with the GOP proposal, and economists have cautioned that targeting the checks too narrowly could have adverse impacts for the economy. It’s likely Biden will settle on a compromise between the two cutoffs.
Biden told House Democrats today that “We can better target that number. I am okay with that.”
When Will The Stimulus Bill Pass?
While Biden is meeting with lawmakers to negotiate the bill, Senate Democrats are working in parallel to pass it as quickly as possible, hopefully within the next week. The Senate voted Tuesday along party lines 50-49 (one senator was absent due to snow), to advance the bill as a budget resolution, the start of what could be an onerous process to pass the bill.
Because of Congressional policy, in order to pass the stimulus bill without filibusters slowing down the process, 60 senators would need to vote for it. That would mean Democrats would need to get 10 republicans to vote for Biden's package—which could prove difficult. If Democrats can't convince Republicans to join them, and instead GOP senators choose to fight the law through filibuster, it could hold up the bill for weeks. That's why Biden is attempting to work with Republicans to negotiate the bill: to convince them not to hold it up in Congress.
However, Democrats have another trick up their sleeves if Biden's bipartisan efforts fail: passing the bill through a process called budget reconciliation. We covered that process here, but in short it allows Congress to prohibit filibuster for certain essential budget bills and pass them with a simple majority vote, as long as they meet strict requirements. If Democrats are able to use budget reconciliation, Republicans will not be able to hold up the bill even if no changes are made—and the stimulus package could pass next week.
This is a developing story, and we will keep you updated as lawmakers continue to debate the package. In the meantime, make sure you have our app downloaded so you can get push notifications on all the latest government news. We also have a stimulus check tracker that you can use to calculate second stimulus check available for free.
