Biden Backs Lower Income Cut Off for Stimulus Checks
In a bid to keep moderate Democratic Senators on board, President Joe Biden has backed a plan to cut the income caps for Americans to receive a direct payment as part of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package set to pass in the coming days.
The phase-out levels for the $1,400 stimulus checks are:
- $75,000 in income for single filers; the cap for receiving some payment is now $80,000
- $112,500 for heads of households; the cap is now $120,000
- $150,000 for joint filers; now capped at $160,000
The direct payments would remain at the $1,400 level, the phase-outs thresholds would remain the same, but caps would fall. As a result, more Americans would be cut off from payments.
Breitbart reports,
In the revised proposal, individual filers earning over $80,000 would not qualify for the payments. That’s down from the $100,000 cap in the House bill. Married couples would be cut off at $160,000, down from $200,000. The thresholds for reduced payments would remain at $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for joint filers.
A handful of more moderate Senate Democrats, include Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), have pushed for the bill to more tightly target those most hurt by the pandemic.
Advertisement - story continues belowIt is not yet clear how much the cost of the bill would be reduced by the changes. The House version reportedly would spend $1.9 trillion.
With Republicans seemingly united against the bill, Democrats will need all 50 Senators in their caucus to support the bill.
