Joe Biden says he is willing to adjust income thresholds for a fresh wave of stimulus payments in new relief package

Joseph Zeballos-Roig
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President Joe Biden Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

  • Biden said he is willing to adjust the income thresholds for stimulus checks as part of negotiations over the latest coronavirus relief package.

  • "There is legitimate reason for people to say, 'do you have the lines drawn the exact right way? Should it go to anybody making over X number of dollars? I'm open to negotiate those things" Biden said.

  • He also didn't rule out using reconciliation, but said "time is of the essence" as relief negotiations kick off.

  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Joe Biden said on Monday he is open to adjusting the income thresholds for a fresh wave of stimulus checks for Americans, a key demand among some moderate senators reluctant to back his rescue package.

"There is legitimate reason for people to say, 'do you have the lines drawn the exact right way?' Biden said during a press conference. "Should it go to anybody making over x number of dollars? I'm open to negotiate those things."

Biden said he included more stimulus payments in his $1.9 trillion proposal because they drew support from Democrats and some Republicans last year. Former President Donald Trump demanded a higher stimulus payment amount in a frenzied last-minute push in December.

The remarks reflect Biden's willingness to negotiate elements of his rescue package to garner GOP support, though he didn't delve into more specifics. His plan includes a provision for a $1,400 top-up to $600 checks sent out in December, bringing the full amount to $2,000 for many taxpayers.

Last year, Congress enacted a pandemic relief package that included $1,200 stimulus payments. Individuals earning up to $75,000 qualified for the full check, and the amount phased down until the cutoff at $99,000. Married couples making up to $150,000 also received the federal payment.

The larger direct payments have sparked criticism from some economists who argue its effectiveness is undercut by their distribution to higher earners who didn't lose jobs and are likelier to save them instead. The House approved a plan for $2,000 checks in December, and the bigger cash amounts also mean they gradually decrease more slowly.

For example, the payments would fully phase out for single adults earning $115,000. Some Republicans say it's not a well-targeted relief measure.

Biden didn't rule out using a budgetary process called reconciliation to go around Republicans and enact a rescue package in a majority party-line vote.

"The decision to use reconciliation will depend upon how these negotiations go," he said.

It's becoming more likely that renewed federal aid may not be approved for several more weeks. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that Congress should pass another government rescue package by the middle of March to avoid a lapse in unemployment benefits for millions of Americans.

"There's an urgency to moving it forward and he certainly believes there needs to be progress in the next couple of weeks," Psaki said. The spokesperson also referred to the "unemployment cliff" in the middle of March as an apparent deadline for legislative action.

Congress enacted a $900 billion economic assistance plan last month to renew these federal measures. Currently, around 11.4 million people receive benefits from the set of programs which start to expire on March 14.

Unemployment experts say that Congress must step in with an extension to prevent another lapse by February 14.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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