Democratic senators are divided over who should receive the next round of stimulus payments, creating a dispute as they try to approve $ 1,400 checks on the next aid package for the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The most recent round of stimulus checks was limited to people earning more than $ 99,000 a year or couples earning more than $ 198,000.
U.S. President Joe Biden recommended the same threshold in his $ 1.9 trillion illness aid package.
However, several Democrats want that revenue cap lowered.
Joe Manchin, a Democratic senator from Virginia, said he wants to make sure “higher-income taxpayers are not eligible” for checks, according to a non-binding amendment he and several other Democrats plan to push during the vote on budget documents.
Manchin’s statements do not define “high income,” a term that has been used by lawmakers to describe a wide range of wealth.
Even co-sponsors of the Virginia senator’s amendment disagree on what the threshold should be.