The Democratic Party, which controls the House of Representatives and the Senate, agrees on the urgency of passing President Joe Biden's proposed $ 1.9 trillion aid package, but has internal disagreements over who would be eligible. to receive the third direct aid check of $ 1,400 per person: the most progressive wing advocates, as in the previous cases, setting the limit on those who earn up to $ 75,000 a year, while others prefer to lower the cap to 60,000 or even 50,000 Dollars.
"
There is a discussion at the moment
about what will be the limit of income that they receive annulled", said this Monday the spokesman of the White House, Jen Psaki, "at this moment it continues to be negotiated."
Biden has promised that he will raise the total aid awarded to families to $ 2,000, supplementing the $ 600 payment awarded in December with a new stimulus check.
Democrats
have not decided what the annual income
of those eligible for the aid will be.
Biden met with Democratic congressmen last week to discuss the possibility of reducing the groups that would be eligible, as Republican senators have also advocated.
[Democrats will propose a benefit of up to $ 3,600 per child under Biden's relief plan]
Senator Joe Manchin said last week that he supported the next round of payments not benefiting people who earn more than $ 50,000 or couples who earn more than $ 100,000.
"A person with $ 40,000 or $ 50,000 in income would receive it. And a family that is earning $ 80,000 or $ 100,000, not to exceed $ 100,000, would receive it," Manchin said, "anything above that would not be eligible, because they are the people who are really suffering right now and need the help the most. "
Biden Discusses With Democratic Lawmakers His Promise Of Another $ 1,400 Stimulus Check
Feb. 4, 202100: 45
This
approach has met with growing resistance
from other party members, including Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as House of Representatives from the Progressive Caucus, who have publicly criticized the proposal to lower the income thresholds to 50,000. dollars, saying that middle-class families have also suffered pay cuts for what they need the relief.
[Employment improves for Latinos in January: these are the sectors that are growing the most and those that are still in crisis due to the pandemic]
Representatives Mike Thompson and Anna Eshoo
instead support the option of keeping
income for aid eligibility
at $ 75,000
.
They, along with more than 40 Democrats in the House of Representatives, sent a letter to the president with this approach.
"Although the median household income in our districts is above average, so is the cost of living, including basic necessities such as housing, transportation and food," the letter says, "our financial aid efforts must recognize this reality and maintain support for families and individuals struggling to make ends meet. "
[Biden urges approval of the "fast" aid plan with a check for $ 1,400: "People are hurting"]
Finding the way to make aid payments
The Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, predicted this Sunday that
the country will return to full employment in 2022
if the new economic stimulus package is approved.
He further suggested, in an interview with CNN, that the Administration did not agree with the Democrats' plans to lower income thresholds.
The new $ 1,400 stimulus check may be approved, but not everyone will receive it
Feb. 5, 202100: 34
"The exact details of how to target are yet to be determined, but
struggling middle-class families also need help
," Yellen said.
"If you look at the distribution of who gets the checks, practically nothing goes to the top of the scale, with the vast majority going to the middle and bottom," said Jared Bernstein, the chief White House economist, citing research from the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank.
"The important thing for the president is that we don't lose sight of the people in the middle of the
income
ladder
who are still struggling," he added.
With information from The Washington Post.