President Joe Biden and fellow Democratic leaders have their minds made up: They’re going to push forward a massive stimulus package now—even if it means no Republican support for it.
“Hopefully in a two-week period of time we’ll send something over to the Senate and this will be done,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters on Friday. Democrats plan is to push forward a package along the lines of Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic aid proposal, which includes a round of $1,400 stimulus checks.
Earlier this week Democratic leaders initiated the budget reconciliation process—a key step required to get the bill through the U.S. Senate, assuming it faces united opposition from Senate Republicans.
So all signs point to Democrats attempting to get this bill signed into law in the coming weeks. As they push forward, here’s what Americans should know about the third round of stimulus checks.
How long will it take to get my stimulus check?
Once the bill is signed into law by Biden, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen should be able to get the first of the $1,400 checks—assuming the amount doesn’t get changed during negotiations—depositing a few days after passage. That’s how fast the Treasury got out checks during the last round in December—which was faster than the two-week turnaround it took for the $1,200 CARES Act checks to start depositing.
Like the previous round, Americans getting their checks via mail would likely have to wait a big longer. Last go-around it started mailing around a week after passage.
What do we know about who is eligible for stimulus checks?
Democratic leaders are using Biden’s $1.9 trillion package and $1,400 direct payments as a framework, however, the final details are still being worked out. But we’ll know those details soon: After meeting with the White House on Friday, Pelosi told reporters that early next week her party would “begin working on the specifics of the bill.”
The $1,200 and $600 stimulus checks sent out in 2020 went to Americans earnings $75,000 or less, and to married couples filing jointly with incomes under $150,000. Those checks phased out for individuals earning above $99,000, and joint filers with no children at $198,000. Incomes were based on adjusted gross income, which can be found in your tax filing.
This go around, those income thresholds could get lowered. Last month Biden suggested he might do just that—as a way to target the money to those most in need. On Thursday, The Washington Post reported Democrats might only send $1,400 direct payments to individuals earning $50,000 or less, or $2,800 to married couples with incomes at or below $100,000.
However, we don’t know what new income thresholds Democrats might use for phase outs. It’s also unclear if Democrats’ package would send checks based on 2019 incomes, or 2020.
