Yesterday, we saw the initial details of the new Biden proposal for coronavirus relief. It’s a pretty impressive proposal that totals $1.9 trillion which is more than double the last stimulus bill.
The new proposal contains many important measures like funds for increased vaccine distribution, aid for local and state governments, and extended unemployment benefits.
And of course, the highly anticipated third round of stimulus checks is also included.
The plan is to send out $1,400 checks which is essentially a way to increase the $600 payments that have already gone out to $2,000.
But the plan is to do a little bit more in the realm of stimulus checks.
One of the big changes will be that they want to expand eligibility to some people who have been left out the first two rounds of stimulus relief.
The biggest key group that could be eligible are dependents.
There are basically two major groups of dependents that have been left out.
The first are those 17 years or older who are still dependent upon their parents. Many college students would fall into this group and up until now they have been left out of the stimulus checks.
The other important group would be adults who are dependent on other adults.
So for example if an adult child is taking care of their parent or grandparent, that would be a case where the elderly individual would now be eligible.
It’s not clear to me if the same dependent allowance of $500 will be given or if they will go for the new $600 allowance or perhaps even something higher.
The other expanded eligibility has to deal with immigration status.
The new plan wants to expand eligibility to all mixed status households which refers to “families in which one person is a US citizen or green card holder while others lack legal immigration status.”
To give you an idea, there are roughly 16,000,000 people in the US who would fall under the status which includes around 6 million children.
The recent $600 payments have already trending in this direction by providing payments to American citizens married to undocumented immigrants.
The problem is that the funds were not available to undocumented parents of US-citizen children with Social Security numbers.
It’s not 100% clear as to how far the new proposal will go with expanding eligibility. And it’s also not known what Congress will be willing to accept.
Because Democrats now control both chambers along with the White House, it should be easier to push through their initiatives for coronavirus relief but you can’t take these things for granted especially since some Democrats have already voiced opposition.
We do know that this relief package and in particular stimulus checks are a top priority for Democrats so I do expect them to get the ball rolling very soon after inauguration day.
And hopefully the process will not be slow down by other circumstances such as the impeachment of President Trump.
Related
More details about the $2,000 payments
Third stimulus payment could be a lot higher, here’s how
Are $2,000 checks really needed?
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
