Stimulus Checks: White House Considering Narrowing Eligibility for $1,400 Payments

The political battle over Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion proposed stimulus plan continues, and the White House is now open to the idea of narrowing the eligibility of people who qualify for the $1,400 stimulus check. However, the Washington Post reports that a White House spokesperson says that they are not willing to lower the amount of the third check.

Biden's current plan for $1,400 would cut off at $75,000 for individuals and couples making $150,000 a year. Biden hopes to provide $1,400 for every adult and child under that financial line in addition to the $600 approved by Congress in December. Republicans and moderate Democrats have been pushing against the $1,400 for all checks, arguing that Americans that do not need it should not be given additional financial relief.

An internal source claims that senior Democrats are proposing a new threshold of $50,000 for single taxpayers, $75,000 for people who file as the heads of households, and $100,000 for married couples. A group of 10 Senate Republicans are instead arguing for a cut off of $50,000 for individuals and $100,000 for couples and lowering the payments to $1,000. These conversations are ongoing and nothing has been set into legislation yet.

"The President remains committed to finishing the job on delivering $2,000 in direct relief to Americans who are struggling to make ends meet during this crisis," said White House spokesperson Rosemary G. Boeglin in a statement. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a Tuesday briefing that President Biden is wary of raising the threshold to the point that would disqualify a nurse and teacher filing $120,000 jointly as an example. "That is in his plan," Psaki explained. "People need to get the relief they need."

Biden has drawn criticism since his election for backtracking on his campaign promise of $2,000 checks. "Their election will put an end to the block in Washington — that $2,000 stimulus check — that money would go out the door immediately, to help people who are in real trouble," Biden claimed while campaigning during the Senate runoff in Georgia. "Think about what it will mean to your lives — putting food on the table, paying rent." The Democratic stance since the election has been that "[The President] will build on the $600 down payment provided by Congress last year, sending an additional $1,400 to households across America, totaling direct payments to $2,000 per person."