Democrats clash over income eligibility cap for $1,400 stimulus checks. What to know

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Some progressive Democrats have criticized President Joe Biden and his administration for being open to lowering the income eligibility requirements for the $1,400 stimulus checks in the president’s proposed coronavirus relief package.

Biden’s $1.9 trillion emergency plan, unveiled in January, would send $1,400 checks to individuals earning up to $75,000 a year and joint filers earning up to $150,000, assuming income levels go unchanged from the first two rounds of stimulus payments. The proposal would also provide $1,400 per child or adult dependent.

More than 50 House Democrats sent a letter to Biden asking him to keep the $75,000 threshold for individuals to receive the full direct payments as he faces pressure to lower the income eligibility in the first test of bipartisanship during his presidency.

“We understand that the administration is considering proposals from Republican senators to lower the income threshold for economic relief payments. These lower income thresholds would leave behind struggling individuals and families in regions where the costs are very high,” said the letter spearheaded by Democratic Reps. Mike Thompson and Anna Eshoo of California.

A group of 10 Republican senators, led by Maine’s Susan Collins, released a plan on Feb. 1 that includes $1,000 direct payments to Americans instead of the $1,400 checks proposed by Biden. The plan would provide $1,000 stimulus checks for individuals making up to $40,000 a year and phase them out completely when income reaches $50,000. Joint filers would get $2,000, with the payments phasing out beginning at $80,000 a year with an income cap at $100,000.

Biden said on a call with Democrats last week to hold steady on the size of the $1,400 checks — but that he would be open to reducing the income requirements for the payments, Forbes reported.

Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Pramila Jayapal of Washington also criticized Biden’s willingness to compromise on the income cap.

“We cannot cut off relief at $50k. It is shockingly out of touch to assert that $50k is ‘too wealthy’ to receive relief,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Friday. “Millions are on the brink of eviction. Give too little and they’re devastated. Give ‘too much’ and a single mom might save for a rainy day. This isn’t hard.”

Omar, who signed the letter to Biden, tweeted on Sunday: “Cutting the income cap will poison this bill. It already lacks Republicans support and will lose Progressive support. Democrats with a slim majority in the Congress can’t pass this bill without progressives and must resist suggestions that will ultimately tank this relief bill.”

Jayapal wrote on Twitter: “We promised people that if we won the Senate, we would send out $2,000 survival checks. They delivered us to victory—and now we MUST deliver. ‘Targeting’ checks to a smaller group fails to do that.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated Sunday that there could be a compromise between Democrats and Republicans by capping the income eligibility for individuals at around $60,000 a year.

“If you think about an elementary school teacher or policeman making ($60,000) or $ 65,000 a year, it certainly seems appropriate that they can use that help to address the extra burdens from the pandemic,” Yellen said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

But some Democrats want to lower the income cap for payments.

Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said he wants to “ensure upper-income taxpayers are not eligible” for stimulus checks, NBC News reported. Manchin supports phasing out payments starting at $50,000 a year for individuals and $100,000 for joint filers, according to his office, and doesn’t want individuals who make more than $75,000 a year or couples making $150,000 to get checks.

The Senate also passed a budget resolution Friday along party lines that paves the way to pass Biden’s relief plan without any Republican support.

Democrats are hoping to pass the stimulus deal before Mar. 14, the day that $300 weekly unemployment benefits approved in December’s coronavirus package expire. That timeline has added to lawmakers’ desire to go with the budget reconciliation route, a process that allows for “expedited consideration” of legislation on spending, taxes and debt.

Reconciliation would allow Democrats to bypass the 60-vote requirement needed to break a filibuster — meaning just a simple majority is needed to pass the bill. Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate, split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, as Vice President Kamala Harris serves as the tie-breaking vote.

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