House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during her weekly press conference at the HVC Studio A Capitol Visitor Center at the Capitol in Washington DC on Thursday, February 4, 2021.
Demetrius Freeman | The Washington Post | Getty Images
House Democrats on Monday proposed a quicker exit for the next round of direct payments as the party tries to address concerns about the review of coronavirus aid to higher-income Americans.
As part of its part of the $ 1.9 trillion bailout, the House Ways and Means Committee said individuals making up to $ 75,000 and couples filing together and making up to $ 150,000 would be allowed , would receive a full direct payment of $ 1,400. The sum would expire faster than the previously proposed legislation and would be reduced to zero for individuals earning $ 100,000 and joint applicants earning up to $ 200,000.
The proposal may not be the final income structure for the payments as the Democrats negotiate a bill that they will hopefully pass by early March without Republican support.
The authorization for the checks turned out to be the central sticking point in the process. The party must keep all of its members on board, as it needs every democratic vote for a simple majority in the 50:50 Senate, even under special budget rules.
Senator Joe Manchin, DW.V., has called for payments that are better targeted at people who need them most. Democrats reportedly considered lowering the income limit to $ 50,000 for receiving a full payment.
However, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Has called it “absurd” to lower the threshold. He advocated a faster exit from payments over $ 75,000.
It is unclear whether both Manchin and Sanders support the approval limits.
Among the other proposals made by the Ways and Means Committee on Monday, the bill provides for a weekly unemployment benefit supplement of $ 400 through August 29. The Biden government had previously requested that the proposal be valid until September.
A plan is also proposed to send up to $ 3,600 per child to families.
The Democrats passed a budget resolution last week that launched the process of reconciliation. After the relevant House and Senate committees clarify their separate bills, the budget committees will merge them into one giant bill.
The chambers would go to a conference committee to resolve any differences.
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