Stimulus package may include a health care fund, small business support, and state and local assistance.
President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief plan proposes a third round of $1,400 stimulus checks for most Americans, however, approval could take a couple of months.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the stimulus bill could pass in mid-March, just before extended unemployment benefits end.
Janet Yellen, the U.S. Treasury secretary, said earlier this month during an appearance before Congress that the new administration would focus on getting the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan approved quickly. Yellen argued that the proposal would include additional stimulus on top of the $15 minimum wage, which she said was needed to avoid “economic scarring due to this pandemic.”
Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, told CBS News that the stimulus package will be approved before the end of March and the plan could help raise GDP by 0.7%.
There is an 85% chance that the stimulus package will be approved during the first quarter of the year, according to Hunter Hammond, an analyst at Height Securities who added to the news network that the stimulus package may include a health care fund, support for small businesses, and state and local aid.
What could continue to delay passage?
In order for the stimulus package to pass in mid-March, President Biden will need to rally the support of Republican lawmakers. Should that strategy fail, supporters of the stimulus could pass it through a process known as budget reconciliation.
This parliamentary maneuver only requires a majority vote for the legislation to become law, but this option may delay passage of the economic stimulus package even further.