Biden limits eligibility for stimulus payments under pressure from moderate
Senate Democrats
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President Biden's imperative of swiftly passing his $1.9 trillion
pandemic-relief program faces one of its final hurdles, settling disputes
among Senate Democrats over how to ensure aid gets to those who truly need
it. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg)
By
Erica Werner and
Jeff Stein
March 3, 2021 at 11:54 a.m. EST
President Biden has agreed to narrow eligibility for a new round of $1,400
stimulus payments in his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, under
pressure from moderate Senate Democrats who've pushed for more "targeted"
spending in the bill.
Under the new structure, the checks would phase out faster for those at
higher income levels, compared to the way the direct payments were
structured in Biden's initial proposal and the version of the bill passed by
the House on Saturday.
Under the plan passed by the House last week, individuals earning below
$75,000 per year and couples making up to $150,000 per year would qualify
for the full $1,400 stimulus payment. The size of that payment begins
diminishing for higher earners. Under the House plan, individuals making up
to $100,000 per year and couples making up to $200,000 per year would
receive a partial payment less than $1,400 per person, scaled down depending
on income.
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Under the changes agreed to by Biden and Senate Democratic leadership,
individuals earning under $75,000 per year and couples earning under
$150,000 would still receive the full $1,400 per person benefit. However,
the benefit would disappear altogether for individuals earning more than
$80,000 annually and couples earning more than $160,000.
That means singles making between $80,000 and $100,000, as well as couples
earning between $160,000 and $200,000, are newly excluded from a partial
benefit under Biden's plan.
The changes were confirmed by a Democratic aide who spoke on the condition
of anonymity to describe internal deliberations.
The change comes as the Senate prepares to take an initial procedural vote
to move forward on the bill as early as Wednesday afternoon. Biden and
Senate Democratic leaders are scrambling to keep their caucus united since
they cannot lose a single Democrat in the 50-50 Senate with Republicans
united against the legislation.
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Liberal lawmakers have said they will oppose changes to narrow the criteria
on the stimulus payments. "Further 'targeting' or 'tightening' eligibility
means taking survival checks away from millions of families who got them
last time," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional
Progressive Caucus, earlier this week. "That's bad policy and bad politics
too."
Who will get a third stimulus check and why?
Economic stimulus or economic relief: Here's what we know about who might
qualify for the next round of coronavirus checks and how much they'll get.
(Monica Rodman, Sarah Hashemi, Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) was among those who had called for changing the
eligibility levels for checks, telling reporters this week: "I think we
could drop it below the $200,000 and still get households that really need
it."
She said she would hope to redirect the savings from that change toward
other needs, such as hospitals.
Narrowing eligibility for the stimulus checks was just one change moderates
like Shaheen and Joe Manchin III (W.Va.) had been seeking. Several were also
eyeing changing the structure of federal unemployment benefits in the bill,
to keep them at $300 - their current level - rather than raise them to $400
as proposed by Biden and passed by the House.
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That change will not be adopted by Senate Democrats, the aide said.
Centrist Senate Democrats had initially pushed for more aggressive
restrictions on the stimulus payments. Senior Democratic officials had at
one point considered dropping the full benefit for those making more than
$50,000 per year, a change they ultimately abandoned after a backlash led by
Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Senate Budget Chair Bernie
Sanders (I-Vt.).