President Joe Biden is doubling the amount of the next coronavirus stimulation test, even though administration officials are trying to determine exactly who would receive a payment.
At a news conference Friday, Biden said his government was still committed to $ 1,400 stimulus checks as part of its $ 1.9 billion coronavirus relief package. This amount, coupled with the $ 600 payments approved in December, would bring the total recent relief to $ 2,000, an amount supported by many in Congress.
“I’m not reducing the checks,” Biden said. ‘They will be $ 1400 a month. This is what the American people have been promised. ”
What remains unclear is who is eligible to receive a stimulus payment. The president’s initial proposal ensured that singles earning up to $ 75,000, and couples earning up to $ 150,000, would be eligible for full payments. Biden has indicated that he is open to negotiating suitability requirements, but something reflects the new finance minister, Janet Yellen.
Yellen told CNN’s State of the Union that Americans earning $ 60,000 a year would be eligible for the full amount of direct payments. The amount is about $ 10,000 more than a figure discussed by Republicans and Conservative Democrats, who are campaigning for a “targeted” round of payments with an income of $ 50,000.
‘If you think of a primary school teacher or a policeman who earns $ 60,000 a year and deals with children who did not go to school and people who may have had to withdraw from the workforce to take care of them and many extra burdens, President think, and I would definitely agree, that it is appropriate for people to get support there, ”Yellen said.
“President Biden is certainly willing to work with members of Congress to determine what is fair, and he does not want to see a household earning more than $ 300,000 receive these payments,” she adds.
While the payment details are still being refined, the Democratic-controlled Congress continues to pass Biden’s overall package.
House President Nancy Pelosi indicated last week that she intends to pass the entire stimulus package, including direct payments, by the end of February.