Pelosi Expects Stimulus Bill to Pass by Early March: Here's the Latest on Who Could Get $1,400 Checks and When

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Feb 13, 2021 01:29 AM EST

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said that she believes a COVID relief package, which will likely include the $1,400 stimulus checks, will be sent to President Joe Biden's desk before Mar. 14, the deadline for when unemployment benefits will start expiring.

In a 24-18 party-line vote, the House Ways and Means Committee approved on Thursday portions of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan that includes $1,400 direct payments, an extension of unemployment programs, and monthly child tax credit payments.

Pelosi noted that numerous House committees were moving expeditiously to finalize the legislative details for Biden's plan. She said the House is targeting to approve the $1.9 trillion aid stimulus plan by the end of February "so we can send it to the president's desk before unemployment benefits expire."

The nine House committees drafted the stimulus bill in markup sessions between Feb. 8 and Feb. 12. The House Budget Committee will finalize the legislation, and the Rules Committee will set the terms for floor debate from Feb. 15 to 19, according to a Business Insider report.

Between Feb. 22 and Feb. 26, the House is expected to vote on the stimulus bill and sends it to the Senate afterward. Before Mar. 14, the Senate will hopefully pass the stimulus legislation and then forward it to Biden's desk for his signature.

Rep. Steny Hoyer said the Democrats were aiming for a floor vote during the week of Feb. 22. The timeline can get more complicated once the bill reaches the Senate.

But Democrats can use a special procedural tool called budget reconciliation. This procedure allows Democrats to ditch Republicans and pass the relief plan with a simple majority of 51 votes instead of the 60 that is usually needed to break a filibuster.

Stimulus Checks: How Much You'll Get and When

Individuals making up to $75,000 and couples earning up to $150,000 yearly would receive the full $1,400 per person or up to $2,800 for couples for their third stimulus checks. The amounts would be phased out completely at $100,000 and $200,000, respectively.

According to a WUSA 9 report, the monthly child-tax credit would change both the current structure and amounts. As of now, most parents are getting $2,000 at tax time for each child. However, under the new system, parents would receive $300 per month for a child under age 6, which is a total of $3,600 a year.

Parents with children aged 6 to 17 would get $250 per month for each child, totaling $3,000 per year. The report noted that the credit would also be fully refundable. The goal is to reduce child poverty by providing parents money as they need it, and not in one lump sum.

The Ways and Means proposal will also increase the emergency unemployment aid from the current $300 to $400 weekly. Instead of Mar. 14, benefits would last until Aug. 29. The new amount is below the $600 extra weekly aid that was enacted last March but expired last Jul. 31.

According to a CNET report, if the stimulus bill is signed into law by Mar. 14, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could ship out the third stimulus checks only within days or weeks. The earliest could be in the week of Mar. 22.

But the report noted that different payment groups by method like physical check, direct deposit, and EIP card might begin to show up at different times.

Meanwhile, Biden's COVID relief package also included increasing the minimum wage to reach $15 an hour slowly over four years. The wage hike is likely to come under greater criticism in the coming weeks. It has already created a rift among the Democrats.

A group of 10 Senate Republicans released a version of their proposal earlier this month, detailing their $618 billion COVID-19 relief package proposal, Axios reported.

The proposal includes $160 billion for direct response to the pandemic, which will be allocated for vaccines, testing, contact tracing, treatment, and medical equipment.