{"id":189360,"date":"2021-03-04T17:14:24","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T22:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=189360"},"modified":"2021-03-04T17:14:44","modified_gmt":"2021-03-04T22:14:44","slug":"biden-senate-democrats-strike-deal-on-stimulus-check-thresholds-unemployment-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-senate-democrats-strike-deal-on-stimulus-check-thresholds-unemployment-boost\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden, Senate Democrats Strike Deal on Stimulus Check Thresholds, Unemployment Boost"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-senate-democrats-strike-deal-on-stimulus-check-thresholds-unemployment-boost%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=189360&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats reached a deal on key provisions of the COVID-19 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-relief-bill\">relief bill<\/a> on March 3 that will see the pandemic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-unemployment\">unemployment<\/a> benefit top-up stay at $400 through August, while eligibility thresholds for the $1,400 direct payments to U.S. families will be tighter.<\/p>\n<p>White House press secretary Jen Psaki was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/press-briefings\/2021\/03\/03\/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-march-3-2021\/\">asked at a March 3 briefing<\/a>\u00a0to confirm if Biden had signed off on reduced income thresholds for the $1,400 direct payments,\u00a0namely starting the ramp at $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for joint filers, and phasing it out to zero at $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for joint filers, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is comfortable with where the negotiations stand,\u201d Psaki said, adding that Biden is firm on the amount of the $1,400 checks, but has been \u201copen to changes on the margins of this package.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s been negotiations about trying to lower that to $1,000 or change the size of the check\u2014he\u2019s unmovable on that,\u201d Psaki said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut he also knows that the sausage-making machine sometimes spits out a different package,\u201d she said, adding that Biden is\u00a0\u201chopeful that Democrats of all political backgrounds can get behind\u201d the current draft of the rescue bill.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-large wp-image-3718114\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/WH-press-secretary-Jen-Psaki-2021.03.02-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3718114\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/WH-press-secretary-Jen-Psaki-2021.03.02-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/p>\n<p> White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House on March 2, 2021. (Drew Angerer\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who wanted the extra weekly unemployment payments to be cut to $300 from $400,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2021\/03\/03\/senate-push-covid-aid-bill-473261\">told Politico<\/a> he finds Biden\u2019s proposal acceptable and doesn\u2019t plan to introduce any amendments to modify it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a good package that\u2019s going to help an awful lot of people. And it\u2019s targeted. The main thing is, it\u2019s targeted to get to people in need,\u201d Manchin told the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans have denounced the $1.9 trillion relief package for provisions unrelated to the pandemic and have panned parts of the bill as a \u201cliberal wish list.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Just before the bill passed the House last week,\u00a0House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pscp.tv\/w\/1dRKZNAoMAdKB\">took aim<\/a> at its bevy of non-COVID-19-related spending, alleging it caters to \u201cspecial interest allies\u201d and proclaiming that \u201cthe\u00a0swamp\u00a0is back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe amount of money that actually goes to defeating the virus is less than 9 percent,\u201d McCarthy said, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/the-swamp-is-back-mccarthy-says-of-1-9-trillion-relief-bills-passage_3713599.html\">alleging that<\/a> Democrats were \u201cso embarrassed by all the non-COVID waste in this bill that they are jamming it through in the dead of night.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bill passed around 2 a.m. by a vote of 219\u2013212, with all Republicans and two Democrats voting opposed.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-large wp-image-3631867\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Kevin-Mccarthy-speaks-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Kevin McCarthy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3631867\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Kevin-Mccarthy-speaks-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Kevin McCarthy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/p>\n<p> House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks at the weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 3, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>As the package was poised to head to the Senate for a vote on March 4, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) echoed McCarthy\u2019s view that the bill is padded with non-pandemic spending priorities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not going to get punked and we shouldn\u2019t get pressured into voting for something that isn\u2019t what it says it is and that people are going to regret once this thing passes and they see what\u2019s in it,\u201d Rubio told Fox News on March 3.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on the floor of the upper chamber on March 3, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) refuted Republican claims that the package is a \u201cliberal wish list.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an American wish list,\u201d Schumer said. \u201cWhen people want checks to help them get out of the morass, that\u2019s not a liberal wish list. That\u2019s what the American people want.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/speeches-remarks\/2021\/03\/03\/remarks-by-president-biden-at-the-house-democratic-caucus-virtual-issues-conference\/\">spoke to<\/a> the House Democratic caucus on March 3. \u201cEvery single piece of the bill you passed addresses a genuine, desperate need for the American people. Each piece isn\u2019t just defensible, it is urgent and overwhelmingly supported by the people. It\u2019s good policy and it\u2019s good politics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-large wp-image-3718860\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/biden-in-wh-1200x757-1.jpg\" alt=\"Joe Biden\" width=\"640\" height=\"404\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3718860\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/biden-in-wh-1200x757-1.jpg\" alt=\"Joe Biden\" width=\"640\" height=\"404\" \/><\/p>\n<p> President Joe Biden speaks about his administration\u2019s COVID-19 response, in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington on March 2, 2021. (Kevin Lamarque\/Reuters)<\/p>\n<p>At the presser, Psaki was also asked about $350 billion of the bill going toward state and local government aid, in the face of suggestions by a number of economists and think tanks that argue something between $100 million to $225 million is more appropriate.<\/p>\n<p>Psaki responded by pointing to the 1.3 million state and local government jobs lost since the beginning of the pandemic, as well as 32 states reporting revenue shortfalls compared to 2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re still at the height of a pandemic. The pandemic has not concluded at this point in time. And they\u2019re also looking ahead to what their needs are down the road,\u201d Psaki said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were meeting the needs and the requests of state and local leaders, consistent with what we\u2019ve seen statistically about the job losses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Senate will now vote on whether to consider the bill, after which the chamber will engage in debate and finish with a series of amendment votes. Considering and voting on amendments could turn into a marathon, as has happened in the past on controversial legislation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m hoping for infinity,\u201d said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats reached a deal on key provisions of the COVID-19 relief bill on March 3 that will see the pandemic unemployment benefit top-up stay at &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2274735,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png","fifu_image_alt":"Biden, Senate Democrats Strike Deal on Stimulus Check Thresholds, Unemployment Boost","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-189360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png","fifu_image_alt":"Biden, Senate Democrats Strike Deal on Stimulus Check Thresholds, Unemployment Boost","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2274735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}