WASHINGTON – House approved Saturday $ 219-212 a $ 1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, which includes $ 1,400 in checks for most Americans and billions of dollars for schools, governments state and local and companies.
Republicans are totally against the bill and raise concerns that spending is far more than necessary and is designed to advance political priorities that go beyond helping Americans get through the pandemic. Democrats and President Joe Biden reject that a robust aid package is needed to prevent a long and painful recovery from the pandemic.
The Democrats’ goal is to approve the release of COVID-19 in mid-March, when the extra unemployment benefit and other pandemic aid expire. The Senate, which Democrats control with a tiebreaker vote from the vice president, will consider the bill below.
A look at some highlights of the legislation:
MORE CONTROLS
The legislation provides for a bonus of up to $ 1,400 for a single taxpayer or $ 2,800 for a married couple to process together, plus $ 1,400 per dependent. People who earn up to $ 75,000 would get the full amount, as would married couples with incomes of up to $ 150,000.
The size of the check would be reduced for those who earn a little more with a limit of $ 100,000 for individuals and $ 200,000 for married couples.
Some Republicans want to reduce the size of the rebate as well as the number of eligible Americans, but Biden has insisted on $ 1,400 checks, saying “that’s what was promised to the American people.” The new round of checks will cost the government about $ 422 billion.
BIGGER TAX DISCOUNTS FOR THE HOME WITH CHILDREN
Under current legislation, most taxpayers can reduce their income tax bill by up to $ 2,000 per child. The package that would travel through the House would increase the tax credit to $ 3,000 for every child ages 6-17 and $ 3,600 for all children under 6.
The legislation also requires payments to be made monthly instead of a single amount. If the Secretary of the Treasury determines that it is not feasible, payments will be made as often as possible.
In addition, families would get full credit regardless of how little they earn in a year, even just a few hundred dollars, leading to criticism that the changes would serve as a disincentive to work. Add the $ 1,400 for individual checks and other items in the proposal, and the legislation would reduce the number of children living in poverty by more than half, according to an analysis by Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy.
HELP STATES AND CITIES
The legislation would send $ 350 billion to state and local governments and tribal governments. While Republicans in Congress have largely opposed this initiative, Biden’s push has some support from the women’s government between governors and mayors.
Many communities have had successes in their tax base, as millions of people have lost their jobs and people stay home and avoid restaurants and shops to avoid COVID-19. Many areas have also seen spending increase as they work to treat patients and increase vaccinations.
But the impact varies from state to state and from city to city. Critics say the funding is not properly targeted and is far more than necessary, with billions of dollars allocated last spring to states and communities that have not yet been spent.
HELP SCHOOLS
The bill calls for $ 130 billion in additional aid to schools for kindergarten through 12th grade students. The money would be used to reduce the size of the classrooms and modify classrooms to improve social distancing, install ventilation systems, and purchase personal protective equipment. The money could also be used to increase the hiring of nurses, counselors and provide summer schools.
Expenditure on colleges and universities would increase by $ 40 billion, with money earmarked to cover an institution’s pandemic-related expenses and provide emergency aid to students to cover expenses such as food and housing and computer equipment.
HELP BUSINESS
The bill provides another round of relief for airlines and eligible contractors, $ 15 billion, as long as they refrain from harassing workers or cutting wages until September. It is the third round of airline support.
A new program for restaurants and bars affected by the pandemic would receive $ 25 billion. Grants provide up to $ 10 million per entity with a limit of $ 5 million per physical location. Grants can be used to cover payroll, rent, utilities, and other operating expenses.
The bill also provides another $ 7.25 million for the Wage Protection Program, a small fraction of what was allocated under previous legislation. Loans are designed to help borrowers meet their payroll and operating expenses and can potentially be forgiven.
HELP THE UNEMPLOYED
The federal government’s expanded unemployment benefits would expand, with an increase from $ 300 a week to $ 400 a week. This is in addition to what beneficiaries get through their state unemployment insurance program.
HEALTHCARE
The bill provides money for key elements of the Biden administration’s COVID-19 response, while trying to move forward on long-standing Democratic priorities such as increasing coverage under the Access to Care Act. ‘It was Obama.
In “Obamacare,” a tax carrot is hung in front of a dozen states, mostly in the south, that have yet to adopt the Medicaid expansion of the law to cover more low-income adults. It’s uncertain if this sweetener would be enough to start eroding long-standing Republican opposition to Medicaid expansion.
The bill provides $ 46 billion to expand federal, state and local testing of COVID-19 and improve contract tracking capabilities with new investments to expand laboratory capacity and set up mobile testing units. It also contains about $ 14 billion to accelerate the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines nationwide.
RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE
The bill would gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $ 15 per hour in June 2025, and then adjust it to increase at the same rate as average hourly wages. However, this provision is not expected to survive the final bill. The Senate MP ruled that it cannot be included in the COVID-19 financial aid package in the process that Democrats chose to pass a simple majority bill.
Biden had predicted this result. Still, the ruling was a severe setback for most Democratic lawmakers who had said the higher minimum wage would increase the pay of millions of Americans. The supportive Congressional Budget Office had projected that the new federal minimum wage would lift some 900,000 people out of poverty once it was fully in place. But Republicans said mandatory wage hikes would make it difficult for small businesses to survive and noted the OBC’s projection that some 1.4 million jobs would be lost as employers looked for ways to compensate their seniors. staff costs.