Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the 1.9$ trillion stimulus bill. Now, the only thing left is for president Joe Biden to put his signature on it and effectively make it into law.
This new legislation is tied to a lot of additional government spending in an attempt to help states and citizens combat the pandemic and the growing economic crisis in the country. Here are some of the key points from this bill:
Stimulus checks
This is the third round of stimulus checks that the government will provide to low-income citizens. However, it marks the first time that residents who are married to undocumented residents will be able to receive the additional help.
With it, people that earn up to 75.000$ a year will be eligible to receive the full stimulus check of 1.400 dollars. The same applies to couples whose yearly incomes are up to 150.000$. The payments will decline as the income increases and for citizens that earn 160.000$ per year or more, there won’t be any governmental aid available.
Tax Credits
With this legislation, tax credits for families with lower and middle incomes will be refundable through 2021. In addition to that, the child tax credit will also receive an expansion from 2.000$ to 3.000$. Each family with a child aged 6 to 17 will be eligible to get this aid. For children 5 and under, the rate is set at 3.600$.
These tax credits will be available from July and households will get them on a monthly basis.
Vaccinations and COVID-19 testing
160 billion dollars will be given for COVID-19 testing and vaccination programs. The aim is for that money to help with the spread of the virus and the vaccine rollout.
The plan is for a national vaccination program to be started so that every resident of the United States is able to receive their shot regardless of their immigration status.
Unemployment insurance and health coverage
The unemployment benefits will be extended, and people will continue to get 300$ a week through September 6th. For laid-off workers, health insurance will continue to be covered, if they’re eligible for the COBRA coverage in employer healthcare plans.
Help for the business
25$ billion would be given to help restaurants that are unable to work or are restricted to do so due to lockdowns.
The bill also includes 7.25$ billion for forgivable loans and 15$ billion for the so-called Economic Injury Disaster Loans.
Additional funds for the states
After many states have come out and said that they will be forced to eat public health and education programs if they don’t receive more funding. Because of that Senate Democrats asked to add in more than 360$ billion in this legislation to help struggling states.
This move was heavily criticized by Republicans, who commented that this Is bailout money for states that couldn’t manage their budgets
Of course, the above points don’t cover everything that is included in this 1.9$ trillion legislation, however, it is aimed to give you a sense of what you can expect from the government in these next months.
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