UPDATE: Some senior Dems are looking at lowering threshold on stimulus payments so they start phasing out above $50K for single taxpayers; $75K for heads of households; & $100K for married couples
Stressing here: Talks fluid, conversations are ongoing
John Friedman: "Targeting stimulus payments to [poorer] households would ... better support households most in need"
@MattBruenig: “This is ... the illusion of targeting ...[and] will end up hurting tens of millions of people who are currently in need but weren’t in 2019.”
Latest we expect on checks, *as of now*, per aides:
-- $600 per adult; $600 per kid
-- No family cap
-- Adult dependents DO qualify, unlike Cares
-- Same phase-out as Cares (diminishes +$75K, ends +$99K)
-- Incorporates Rubio mixed status family bill
*IF* this ends up being right -- For a family of 4 with 2 unemployment parents, that would mean adding $2,400 in checks ($600 x 4) but losing $3,600 in UI ($300 x 6 x 2) -- down $1,200 from Romney-Manchin
A senior Treasury official also said that Democrats and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) support stimulus checks' inclusion in the relief package. These Democrats support including both checks and robust federal UI washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020…
🚨🚨🚨White House proposes dramatically cutting federal unemployment benefits as agreed to by bipartisan Senate group, in potentially huge blow to relief talks
Mnuchin pitches $0 in federal UI benefit for jobless in exchange for one-time check of $600
Offer takes the bipartisan Senate group's $180 billion in proposed UI benefits down to $40 billion. It would extend some federal unemployment programs but crucial UI supplemental benefits would be at $0. Trump unilaterally approved $300/week this summer
This is an obvious nonstarter among Dems and a bad sign for negotiations overall.
In July, Trump said he supported extending UI benefits: "We're going to take care of the people." WH now proposing $0 in supplemental UI benefits for tens of millions
— Enormous unemployment programs 4 millions to expire
— Protections 4 renters, student borrowers end
— ACA at Supreme Court
— Gov shutdown Dec 11
— 40% restaurants, 66% hotels face closure
— 1M travel jobs at risk
Hunger already up dramatically. 30-40 million face eviction. 80K bus drivers furloughed. Retailers under siege. Huge layoffs in oil & gas. Public transit face major cuts.
*90%* of $2.7T in Covid aid has been disbursed or committed, per @MarcGoldwein