President Joe Biden’s stimulus plan has been the primary talking point in economic circles for quite some time. On Monday, the House Budget Committee finally approved the plan, which moves it towards House passage. The program includes 1.92 trillion USD as a means to help US residents bounce back from the negative impact the pandemic had. As for the vote, it went 19-16, mostly following party lines. The exception was Lloyd Doggett, a Texas Democrat Rep., who voted with Republicans, but later stated it was an error.
The next step for the bill is moving into the House Rules Committee. The Committee can make adjustments to the plan before moving forward. Next week, the stimulus program suggestion will hit the House floor where the final decision resides.
Since the plan is a spinoff bill (part of the 2021 budget resolution), it has immunity from the Senate filibuster. That means that it needs 50 Democratic votes to pass, while Kamala Harris, the Vice President, could act as a tie-breaker. As such, the odds of realization for the stimulus currently look quite high. Since the program is likely to pass, let’s see its most important parts:
Direct Payments to Households – $422.3 billion
Undoubtedly the part most Americans are looking forward to, the stimulus includes a new direct payment round. This time, each tax filer and eligible dependant will receive $1,400. Those with an individual income of over $75,000 will gradually slip out of the pool of those receiving help. The income calculations will take 2019 and 2020 tax returns into account.
Assistance to State, Local and Tribal Governments – $350 billion
As a part of the economic hit during COVID-19, tax collection suffered. That means governments had significantly fewer funds at their disposal. The stimulus aims to bolster the funds and encourage spending.
Pandemic-Related Unemployment Benefits – $245.8 billion
Another major impact COVID had were significant layoffs, with many suddenly becoming jobless. The plan takes that into account and adds $400 a week to benefit checks. Additionally, for those that have exhausted state benefits, there’s an extension in federal benefits.
Aid to Assist School Reopenings – $128.6 billion
This part of the bill will assist schools in reopening and resuming class efficiently. On top of that, it’s also aimed at ensuring the openings were as safe as they can be for both students and teachers.
Child Tax Credit Increase – $109.2 billion
While the current child tax credit is $2,000, the stimulus will boost it to $3,000. For children under 6, it will even go up slightly further, extending to $3,600.
