$20 Billion For A National Vaccination Program
While the vaccination effort thus far has been delegated to the states, lawmakers secured an additional $20 billion to establish a national vaccine program to help launch community vaccination centers, deploy mobile vaccination units to remote communities, and provide funding for 100,000 public-health workers to be employed in the effort.
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Bad News: The New Stimulus Package Probably Won’t Include Checks
Money, Home and Living Reporter, HuffPost
When the coronavirus pandemic hit earlier this year, the federal government scrambled to provide much-needed financial relief to individuals and business owners. The $2 trillion CARES Act the largest stimulus package in U.S. history was signed in March. Included in the various relief measures were direct payments of $1,200 to qualifying individuals.
Now that talks of another stimulus package are underway, Americans have been anxiously wondering whether theyll receive another round of checks. Unfortunately, the latest legislation doesnt include direct payments, and thats unlikely to change in the final bill. But that doesnt mean theres no hope for additional checks in the future.
Heres a closer look at the latest coronavirus relief proposals on the table, whats included and when you might expect to receive another stimulus check from Uncle Sam.
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President Biden Signs Relief Bill Into Law And Begins Implementation
Alert
03.11.21
President Biden has signed the next COVID-19 economic relief package into law. The American Rescue Plan Act was passed by the Senate late last week and was adopted by the House of Representatives on Wednesday. While smaller than the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed in March 2020, the American Rescue Plan represents a major spending package, aimed at stabilizing the economy, protecting job growth and mitigating the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Below are the key elements of American Rescue Plan Act:
Assistance to Businesses
The nearly 650-page bill also includes numerous provisions designed to stimulate the economy and support for small businesses and other particularly hard-hit industries. The American Rescue Plan Act will increase funding for targeted Economic Injury Disaster Loans, and it provides for second-round draws of Paycheck Protection Program assistance for certain nonprofits and digital news services. The Act also bolsters funding for grants for arts programs and venues, which were first authorized in the previous COVID relief legislation signed into law at the end of 2020.
State and Local Aid
These measures are particularly important given that local government support was not addressed in the December COVID-19 relief package.
Cybersecurity and IT Modernization
Schools and Child Care Programs
Individual Pandemic Relief and Financial Protections
Expanded Health Care Offerings
Covid-19 Vaccination, Testing, and Sequencing
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Things We Found Of Note
$8,000
$40,000 Projected average net worth of millennials in 2030
$68 trillion Amount of assets projected to transfer from baby boomers to Gen-Xers and millennials over the next 25 years.
39% Percentage of Americans surveyed that could not pay for a $1,000 surprise expense without some form of borrowing
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Will This Stimulus Package Be Passed Into Law
Bidens plan is ambitious. But it would have to be negotiated, voted on and passed by both the House and Senate before its passed to his desk to be signed into law. The large price tag of the proposal could receive pushback from conservative Republicans, who largely fought against proposals with similar price tags over the summer.
With control of both chambers of Congress, however, Democrats could utilize budget reconciliation to avoid a Senate filibuster and pass the plan with only Democratic votes, according to The Hill. The Biden administration, however, wants the stimulus package to pass with bipartisan support.
Congress has already passed $4 trillion in legislation to fight against Covid-19 and provide economic aid.
Stimulus Checks And Jobless Aid
The bill includes the biggest round yet of direct cash payments: $1,400 for individuals making under $75,000 and $2,800 for married couples making under $150,000. The White House says they’ll begin hitting bank accounts “as early as this weekend.”
Individuals making less than $80,000 or married couples making below $160,000 will get smaller checks. Parents who qualify for their own checks also will get an additional $1,400 per child.
Those who are out of work will get a $300-a-week federal bonus to their unemployment benefits through Sept. 6.
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What Didn’t Make It: $15 Minimum Wage
President Joe Biden’s initial plan called for increasing the national minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025, more than doubling the current rate and increasing wages for an estimated 27 million workers. But the controversial proposal lacked support among key moderate Democrats in the Senate.
Last month, the Senate parliamentarian ordered the wage rise be removed from the bill. She said it did not meet the guidelines necessary to be included under the budget process Democrats plan to use to advance the aid package.
AZ: In the end, it was the Senate parliamentarian who killed the minimum wage increase, ruling that it would take 60 votes to pass. At the moment, just isn’t that kind of support in the Senate for a $15 wage – or among Democrats to overrule the parliamentarian – but the door is still open to a compromise on a lower minimum outside of the Covid relief package.
Republican support: 1/5
Check : Expanded Child Tax Credit For 2021 Which Is More Than Double The Amount Of The Stimulus Checks
The new American Rescue Plan expands the child tax credit that currently allows families to claim a credit of up to $2,000 for children under 17. The plan extends the benefit to lower-income families who otherwise wouldn’t receive the credit. Families can claim as much as $3,600 per year for a child under 6 and up to $3,000 per year for those between 6 and 17. Here’s how often you can expect to get the payments and how to find out if you qualify for the larger payments.
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Your Family Might Receive A Bigger Child Tax Credit
The plan includes major enhancements to the Child Tax Credit, making benefits more generous for tens of millions of families.
First, the bill increases this years benefit from $2,000 per child to $3,600 for children under the age of six and $3,000 for all other children, including dependent 17-year-olds, who had previously been ineligible. According to a report from the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, the increase is expected to reduce childhood poverty by 40% this year.
The tax credit, which is usually non-refundable, will be made fully refundable for the year 2021, meaning families can claim the full benefit even if its more than the amount of income tax they owe. The bill also removes the $2,500 income requirement that previously kept the poorest of parents from receiving the help in the first place.
In order to get the tax credit into the hands of more people as quickly as possible, the bill authorizes the IRS to send out monthly payments between July and December 2021 to families who opt in, instead of waiting for them to file taxes next year. However, questions still remain on whether or not the IRS will be able to accommodate such a major system overhaul in such a short period of time.
What Else Should Employers Know About The New Relief Package
The new stimulus package is yet another sprawling piece of federal legislation passed during the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, many components of the bill may not impact certain employers or their staff at all. However, there are otherssuch as the new grant program to support restaurants and barsthat could directly impact your team and your company.
Its imperative that employers and HR professionals stay on top of all the latest updates as they become available. Follow the BerniePortal Blog in the coming days and weeks to learn more about these important changes to federal law.
You May Like: Update On 4th Stimulus Package
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Contained in the stimulus proposal is a plan for vaccinations, support for workers and businesses and a $1,400 check to most households. Many of the measures in the bill will attempt to address long-standing racial and gender disparities laid bare by the pandemic. Here are some of the key parts of the bill:
Vaccinations
The package about $14 billion for vaccines, including a program to create community vaccination centers and deploy mobile vaccination units to reach underserved populations and people who are undocumented. This is to work toward the administrations goal of 100 million shots in 100 days. The administration administered 50 million shots within 37 days.
Biden also wants to expand testing, allocating an additional $50 billion toward that goal, with funding for more rapid tests and more robust testing protocols at schools and within local governments.
That package allocated $19 billion to expand the public health workforce, which would involve vaccine outreach and contact tracing also critical areas, especially as experts worry that vaccine skepticism and misinformation could deter women from getting the injections.
School reopenings
Another $35 billion in funding will go to public higher education to also execute coronavirus mitigation plans, such as implementing public health protocols and distance learning plans.
Child care
Child tax credit
Unemployment
Food insecurity
Rent relief
Paid leave
The House Approved The American Rescue Plan On Wednesday Sending The Sprawling Package To President Bidens Desk
The House passed a $1.9 trillion stimulus plan Wednesday, marking a major Democratic legislative victory aimed at boosting the economy and ending the pandemic.
The vast relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan, was approved on a 220-to-211 vote almost entirely along party lines. President Biden is expected to sign the legislation Friday.
The legislation will send $1,400 checks to most Americans, extend unemployment insurance and allocate billions of dollars for coronavirus testing. It is among the largest economic stimulus packages in U.S. history.
Heres a rundown of the American Rescue Plan:
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What Does The New Stimulus Package Contain
On Thursday, the House Democrats voted and approved a $2.2 trillion new stimulus package. It was approved majorly by the Democrats, many believe that it has the chances of getting past the Senate. However, the White House and House Democrats are now negotiating on what the final stimulus bill should look like.
Many are calling this new stimulus package a trimmed down version of the previously proposed Heroes Act.
As per reports, Speaker Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin met thrice on Thursday to finalize a stimulus bill before the House goes into recess. They discussed a variety of issues. Some of them included extending unemployment benefits and the second round of stimulus checks. Later the same day, Speaker Pelosi informed reporters that they are in the final phase of approving a stimulus bill.
How Are Separated Spouses Be Affected
This applies only if the taxpayer lived with a qualifying child for more than half of the taxable year and didnt have the same principal home as the spouse at least six months of the year. A separation decree or agreement would also suffice, as long as the individual didnt live with the spouse by the end of the taxable year.
This change will be permanent.
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Prize For Retaining Payroll
What they got: Businesses would get a tax credit for keeping idled workers on their payrolls during the coronavirus pandemic, so long as the businesses meet certain criteria. They would get a refund for half of what they spend on wages, up to $5,000 per worker.
Why it matters: To qualify, businesses have to prove they took a 50 percent loss compared to the same quarter in years past. And to keep companies from double-dipping on aid under the bill, employers wont be able to get special SBA loans if they opt for the tax credit.
Direct Economic Impact Payments
The bill includes another round of economic impact paymentscommonly referred to as stimulus checks. The CARES Act provided the first round of stimulus checks for eligible Americans. Under the CARES Act, tax filers with an adjusted gross income of up to $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns were eligible to receive the full payment of $1,200 per individual or $2,400 per married couple. Parents were also eligible to receive $500 for each qualifying child.
The bill follows the same eligibility guidelines as the CARES Act, but the amount of the stimulus check is less this time around. Instead of being eligible for a $1,200 payment, qualifying taxpayers are eligible for a payment of $600 per individual or $1,200 per married couple. Parents will also be eligible to receive $600 for each qualifying child.
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Where Things Stand On Stimulus Checks Jobless Aid Child Tax Credits Healthcare Coverage
Democrats in Congress are racing to meet a self-imposed mid-March deadline for President Bidens coronavirus relief package before enhanced federal jobless benefits expire. The Senate passed the bill on Saturday and now sends it back to the House. Heres an overview of the $1.9 trillion legislation, from stimulus checks to child tax credits, jobless benefits, vaccine distribution, healthcare subsidies, restaurant aid and more.
What is the overall size of the package?
The House and Senate passed a budget resolution in February that allowed them to craft the $1.9 trillion relief package. The size of the package has stayed roughly the same since it was unveiled by Mr. Biden during the transition period, and after he rebuffed a proposal by a group of 10 Republicans who argued for a $618 billion bill.
$45 Billion For Transportation Including Over $4 Billion For The Mta
The second stimulus will include $15 billion for airline payroll support, $10 billion for state highways, another $2 billion for airports and related businesses, and $1 billion for Amtrak. Wrapped into the $14 billion secured for public transit is a sum of around $4 billion for the MTA, which received the same amount of funding as it did during the CARES Act.
As Curbed notes, the aid will stave off the 40 percent reduction in subway service and 9,000 layoffs that the MTA had previously proposed as necessary measures for balancing the huge budget gap caused by the pandemic-driven decline in ridership. However, the MTA will still be forced to cut service on the Long Island Rail Road, hike fares and tolls in the spring, and assume $2.9 billion in debt to cover operating expenses. The agency is still facing an $8 billion deficit through 2024.
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Check : $300 In Additional Weekly Unemployment Benefits Including A New Tax Break
Under the new legislation, federal unemployment checks have been extended to Sept. 6 at a $300 weekly rate. The package also reduces the tax burden on the unemployment money for households earning less than $150,000 a year. The new law renewed the weekly $300 federal unemployment checks, which would’ve expired March 14, without a gap in funding.
The plan also removes a provision that you have to make $2,500 a year to receive the credit and makes the credits fully refundable. In addition, it expands tax credits for one year to help cover the cost of child care. Families could get back as a tax credit as much as half their spending on child care for children under age 13, up to $4,000 for a single child and $8,000 for two or more children.
The new law provides financial assistance to families with children.
What Are The Extended Unemployment Benefits
The bill extends federal unemployment insurance programs and an additional $300 boost per week until Sept. 6, 2021. This adds 25 more weeks to two federal unemployment programs: the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program .
The PEUC allows states to provide extra weeks of benefits to those who have already used up their maximum available state benefits. The PUA program extends unemployment benefits to self-employed workers, freelancers, or gig workers who normally would not qualify.
You can now receive up to a maximum of 49 weeks of PEUC, and up to 75 weeks of PUA.
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Covid Bill Signed: $19t Stimulus Package Includes $1400 Checks Child Tax Credit $300 Unemployment Boost
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to approve the $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan, paving the way for President Joe Biden to sign his top legislative priority into law.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed into law Thursday a sweeping COVID pandemic relief package over congressional Republican opposition.
The milestone political victory provides $1,400 checks for most Americans and directs billions of dollars to schools, state and local governments and businesses.
Democrats said the American Rescue Plan would help the country defeat the virus and nurse the economy back to health. Republicans criticized the $1.9 trillion package as more expensive than necessary and they complain it inflates the national debt and sends money to projects not directly tied to the pandemic. The measure follows five earlier virus bills totaling about $4 trillion that Congress has enacted since last spring.
A look at some highlights of the legislation: