Photo by Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images
- Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Rep. David McKinley of West Virginia introduced bipartisan legislation to issue $1,400 stimulus checks with a $75,000 threshold.
- The legislation would maintain the income threshold of the previous $600 stimulus payment.
- Lawmakers supported excluding higher-income Americans from receiving payments.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Republican Rep. David McKinley of West Virginia introduced legislation on Friday that provides $1,400 stimulus checks to Americans while maintaining the $75,000 income threshold from the previous stimulus payments.
In his $2 trillion stimulus plan, President Joe Biden called for $1,400 stimulus payments following the second wave of $600 stimulus checks. This would fulfill his promise to get a total of $2,000 to Americans for pandemic relief – a promise he is unwilling to forego, despite Republican opposition.
Rochester and McKinley’s legislation – The Coronavirus Assistance for American Families Act – marks one of the few bipartisan efforts supporting a $1,400 stimulus payment.
“By providing a third round of individual relief, millions of American families would receive the help they need,” McKinley said in a statement. “As Congress continues to negotiate additional COVID-19 relief measures, we must prioritize family-focused direct assistance to those who need it most.”
The legislation includes:
- Providing $1,400 payments for adults and dependents equally;
- Eligibility for adult dependents, unlike the first two rounds of payments;
- And phasing out the payments for single filers making above $75,000 per year and for joint filers making above $150,000 per year, the same income threshold as the $600 stimulus payments.
The income threshold is currently a topic of debate in Congress. Democrats have proposed phasing out the third stimulus check for individuals making above $50,000 a year, and Republicans have proposed capping eligibility completely for those making above that amount. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators passed an amendment that excludes higher-income people from receiving a stimulus payment, but it did not specify a specific threshold.
"Further targeting means not the size of the check - it means the income level of people who receive the check," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a press conference on Wednesday. "That's something that is under discussion."
Rochester and McKinley's plan would keep Biden's $1,400 check proposal while also maintaining previous eligibility requirements.