House Democrats reveal new relief package, which includes more $1,200 cash payments to Americans and their families

Advertisement
House Democrats reveal new relief package, which includes more $1,200 cash payments to Americans and their families
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
  • House Democrats unveiled their latest coronavirus relief bill, which includes additional stimulus checks.
  • The bill proposes sending up to $1,200 to individuals and $2,400 to married couples, plus an an extra $1,200 per qualifying dependent up to a maximum of three.
  • It also suggests amendments to the CARES Act, like expanding eligibility for stimulus checks to retroactively include dependents of all ages and people with taxpayer identification numbers.
  • Read more personal finance coverage »
Advertisement

House Democrats on Tuesday introduced the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions, or HEROS, Act.

The bill puts forth a number of additional lifelines for struggling workers during the coronavirus pandemic, including more stimulus checks for Americans. The House is expected to vote on the bill Friday.

A provision titled "additional recovery rebates" calls for sending another round of payments of up to $1,200 to individuals and $2,400 to married couples who file taxes jointly. Under the CARES Act, only people with a Social Security number were able to get payments. The HEROS Act allows taxpayers to qualify for a payment if they have a taxpayer identification number (TIN). It also proposes retroactively changing the rules in the CARES Act to allow filers with TINs to qualify and receive payments.

Splintering from the CARES Act, the new legislation proposes expanding family payments to include any person who is claimed as a dependent on a taxpayer's tax return, regardless of age. The filer would get an additional $1,200 for each qualifying dependent, up to a maximum of three.

The CARES Act gave an additional $500 to parents for each child under age 17, with no limit on the number of children. This left out college students, senior citizens, and other adults who are claimed as dependents on relatives' tax returns. The HEROS Act proposes amending the CARES Act to send $500 to filers with qualifying dependents, not just qualifying children.

Advertisement

The HEROS Act upholds the same income limits for qualification based on 2018 or 2019 tax returns (whichever was filed most recently): $150,000 for joint filers, $112,500 for heads of household, and $75,000 for single filers. People whose income is over those thresholds would have their payment reduced by $5 for each $100 over the limit before phasing out completely at $198,000 for joint filers, $136,500 for head of household filers, and $99,000 for single filers.

Democrats have been floating plans for sending more cash payments to Americans for weeks now. Some even proposed recurring monthly payments in line with universal basic income plans.

"These are the pillars of our plan to go forward, to make our own environment in a way that is, again, unifying and respectful of those who are sacrificing their lives, as well as those who are feeling so much pain through all of this," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on MSNBC on Monday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shot down the Democrats' latest plan on Tuesday, calling it "a big laundry list of pet priorities," the Washington Post reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
{{}}