Third Coronavirus Stimulus Checks: What To Expect In Virginia

UPDATED March 7: The U.S. Senate on Saturday approved the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill; it must now be reconciled with the House version.

WASHINGTON, DC — More aid for cash-strapped and pandemic-weary Virginians could be on the way soon as the U.S. Senate this week prepares to debate its own version of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package passed by the House of Representatives over the weekend.

Senate Democrats hope to unveil their version of the massive relief package and begin debate as early as Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.

The goal is to send the legislation, which aims to combat the pandemic and bolster the U.S. economy, to President Joe Biden by March 14 — the day emergency jobless benefits lawmakers approved in December expire.

Here’s what we can expect in Virginia as lawmakers in Washington, D.C., continue negotiations:

How Much Aid Can I Anticipate?

Most notably, the measure would provide $1,400 payments to individuals who meet certain income criteria.

The criteria for who would get a stimulus payment and when the payments would go out are similar to those used last year for the first and second rounds of stimulus checks.

The maximum amount for the third round of stimulus checks would be $1,400 for any eligible individual or $2,800 per eligible couple filing taxes jointly. Each eligible dependent — including adult dependents — also would qualify for a payment of $1,400. That means a family of four could receive as much as $5,600 in total.

Single adults who reported $75,000 or less in adjusted gross income on their 2019 or 2020 tax return would receive full $1,400 payments, as would heads of household who reported $112,500 or less. Couples filing jointly who earned $150,000 or less in adjusted gross income would receive the full $2,800.

The size of the payment is expected to gradually decrease for those who earned more than that. Eventually, payments would phase out for higher-income households.

If Congress moves quickly on the relief package, the third stimulus payments could begin to go out in late March, according to the American Association of Retired Persons.

Where Else Is The Money Going?

In addition to direct payments, the legislation would provide hundreds of billions of dollars for schools and colleges, COVID-19 vaccines and testing, mass transit systems, renters and small businesses. It also has money for child care, tax breaks for families with children, and assistance for states willing to expand Medicaid coverage for low-income residents.

The legislation is also expected to extend federal pandemic unemployment benefits, raising the weekly payments from $300 to $400.

In total, more than 19 million Americans are currently receiving jobless benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

For the filing week ending Feb. 20, the figure for initial unemployment insurance claims in Virginia was 11,944, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. Continued unemployment insurance claims totaled 64,575 for the week, which was 42,082 higher than the 22,493 continued claims from the comparable week in 2020 before the pandemic started.

Finally, the House Oversight Committee in February approved a provision that would include in the overall package $350 billion in aid to state and local governments. It also published a breakdown of how much assistance local governments would receive. According to the data, Virginia will receive $6.68 billion of that aid should the provision within the legislation remain intact.

Will The Minimum Wage Increase?

Democrats' hopes of including a minimum wage increase in the relief bill seemed all but dead on Tuesday, AP reported.

Last week, hopes for a higher minimum wage dimmed after the Senate parliamentarian said chamber rules forbid the inclusion of a straight-out minimum wage increase in the legislation.

Regardless, progressives are continuing to push for the increase.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders told Democrats to ignore the parliamentarian's ruling blocking the minimum wage increase. He also wants them to vote to eliminate filibusters — procedural delays that would take an unachievable 60 votes for Democrats to overcome, AP reported.

“This is the soul of the Democratic Party,” Sanders said of the minimum wage proposal.

Acknowledging that his effort might fall short, Sanders said, “If we fail in this legislation, I will be back” to offer it in the near future.

What Are The Next Steps?

This is how the legislative process is expected to unfold throughout the week, according to a CNN report:

• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will bring the package to the Senate floor as soon as Wednesday. That version will not include language on a minimum wage increase.
• Once introduced, the Senate will begin 20 hours of debate.
• At the end of those 20 hours, the Senate will begin its second vote-a-rama — the first was held in early February, allowing lawmakers to write and pass the relief bill. These marathon votes are often unpredictable, according to CNN, but using past votes as an indicator, the Senate could vote on it by early Friday morning.

If the Senate passes its version of the bill by the end of this week, that would give the House time to re-pass the new version before the March 14 deadline. Once both chambers have passed the legislation, it would go to President Biden for his signature.

Who Supports It In Virginia? Who’s Against It?

The $1.9 trillion bill is by far Biden’s biggest early legislative priority, and many see it as a test of his ability to unite Democrats in the Senate. It also risks lasting damage to Biden’s influence should he fail, AP reported.

Republicans are strongly against the legislation and could unanimously oppose its passage in the Senate, as House GOP lawmakers did when that chamber approved the bill early Saturday.

In Virginia, all seven House Democrats, including the entire Northern Virginia delegation, voted for the relief package, while the four Republican members of Congress from the state opposed it.

Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, both Democrats, are expected to support the legislation.