Biden openness to send 4 1,400 stimulus checks to a small group

Instead, he said he would consider targeting Americans differently than in the previous two rounds of direct assistance. Members of both political parties have questioned whether the $ 1,400 payment he suggested would go to people who do not need assistance.

“We can better target that number. “I’m fine with that,” Mr. Biden said, according to people.

White House Press Secretary Jane Sasaki said the following Wednesday that Mr. Biden is open to a change in the threshold for who qualifies for the 1, 1,400 stimulus check. “It simply came to our notice then.

Mr Biden also said he was flexible on the overall cost of the package, which Democrats have begun pushing through Congress through a process that would allow him to pass into the party line, according to people familiar with the call. He said Democrats could “compromise” on a number of preamble programs, one said.

Mr Sasaki said Mr Biden did not expect the final package to look exactly what he had proposed. “He knows it’s part of the legal process,” he said.

In addition to sending money to many Americans, the 91.9 trillion proposal will help state and local governments, fund the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine and increase the benefits of federal unemployment. Under the plan, the money will go to schools, childcare facilities and tenants, who want to raise the federal minimum wage to ડ 15 an hour.

Republicans have called Mr. Biden’s plan too costly and premature after Congress approved about 900 900 billion in aid in December, and they have criticized the minimum wage increase provision for not being epidemic-related. The unemployment 618 billion unemployment relief proposed by 10 Senate Republicans will be provided, leaving Mr. Baden’s proposals for unemployment insurance and direct verification behind and others removed.

In meetings with Democrats, Mr. Biden has said that the GOP is working to address the effects of the epidemic. The plan is too low.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.Q.) said Democrats “find their first act in power incapable of provoking the same kind of broad, partisan, weakly targeted orrow that permanently wounded the last Democratic president right outside the door.” “

Democrats are divided over who should benefit in a new round of direct payments to Americans. The previous relief bill introduced a phase of payments for married couples earning more than $ 75,000 a year and those earning more than આવક 150,000. The Biden administration has not yet provided details of its revenue cutoffs, although some Democrats have said they want to stick to the cutoff just like previous efforts.

Other Democrats see the current threshold as too liberal, allowing Americans who do not suffer economically during the epidemic to receive government assistance.

Sen. speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday after a meeting with Mr. Biden. Chris Queens (D. Del.) Said: “We talked about direct payments and how they can be changed. Make sure they are targeted. He added that Mr Biden “does not forget the middle class.”

The Republican plan will reduce the size of checks to $ 1000 per adult and start paying married couples with an income of 80,000 or more and 80,000 or more married couples. A bipartisan group of senators involved in kickstarting the last coronavirus relief bill has also discussed how to target a relief investigation.

Democrats began proceeding this week with a process called Reconciliation, which would allow them to pass a coronavirus relief bill with less than the 60 votes needed for a majority law in the Senate. With the Senate split 50-50 – Vice President Kamala Harris could break ties – Democrats on the package in the Senate are not able to lose a single vote.

The Penn-Wharton budget model estimates that short-term households will save about 73% of the money they receive from direct payments if Mr. Biden’s previous payments of 1, 4,400 per person use the same income threshold. Savings figures include debt repayment.

Those who have lost income are more likely to incur costs in a more focused investigation, the group said.

“A large part of the people being examined are people who are just going to save it because they are not in these industries that are being harmed,” said Mr. Rich Prizinzano, director of policy analysis group. .

Proponents of direct payments argue that casting huge nets helps people who are probably slipping through the cracks of other support programs.

Mr. Biden met with another group of Democratic senators at the Oval Office Fees on Wednesday. After the meeting, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., NY) told reporters that this is a meaningful debate, and that Democrats are united on passing a huge package.

“We want to bipartisan it, but we have to be strong,” Mr Schumer said. “We can’t quarrel, we can’t delay, we can’t thin, because the difficulties this nation has and the opportunities we can bring to them are enormous.”

Wednesday’s meeting is the latest in a series of meetings the new president has had with legislators on Capitol Hill. He spoke with Senate Democrats on Tuesday, urging lawmakers to adopt a larger package. On Monday, Mr. Biden convened a 10 Senate Republican group at the White House to discuss his 18 618 billion alternative plan.

Arin Tarini’s party and Richard Rubin contributed to this article.

Write to Andrew Duhren and Andrew Duhren at @ wsj.com and Eliza Collins at Eliza.Collins @ wsj.com.