Stimulus payments from the most recentCOVID-19 relief packageare starting to arrivein bank accounts and should landin mailboxes in the near future, but the amountswill be noticeably smaller.<\/p>\n
This fifth round ofCOVID-19 stimulus that President Donald Trump signed into law in late Decemberresembles March's $2.2 trillion CARES Act, but it's not nearly as generous.<\/p>\n
The stimulus package will cost about$920 billion, according to Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.That's muchcloser to the $1 trillion packageRepublicans floated thissummer and a third of thebill House Democrats passedfor earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Still, this package includes a mix of proposals from both parties:<\/p>\n
Here's a look at some of the key differences between the March stimulus package and the new law.<\/p>\n
In addition to receivingless money this time around, fewer Americans will receive a check because the payments phase out to zero sooner.<\/p>\n
The deal came as two unemployment programs were set to end on Dec. 26: the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which provides aid to self-employed, temporary workers and gig workers;and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which provides an additional 13 weeks of benefits beyond the typical 26 weeks that states provide to jobless workers.<\/p>\n
In addition, the law gives unemployed workers an extra $300 on top of their state benefits for11 weeks.<\/p>\n
The bill also gives an additional federal benefit of $100 a week to those who earned at least $5,000 a year in self-employment incomebut are disqualified from receiving a more generous Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefit because they are eligible for state jobless aid.<\/p>\n
Some workers who have both wage (W-2) and self-employment (1099) income will be eligible for an additional $100 a week if their state offers it. Its unclear how states will determine eligibility for recipients. The bonus would be on top of the $300-per-week supplement and would last until mid-March.<\/p>\n
The $920 billion price tag for the new stimulus package is dwarfed by the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed in the spring, but a large portion of the money from the March bill passed hasn't been spent and will likely end up funding more than half of this package.<\/p>\n
On top of the mounting annual deficit spending, the funds appropriated for the CARES Act and three other COVID-19 relief measurescommitted the U.S. debt to levels not seen since World War II.<\/p>\n
In May, USA TODAY looked at how the first four bills would impact the federal deficit and debt. That story follows.<\/p>\n
Contributing: Jessica Menton<\/p>\n
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Read the rest here: Stimulus payments from the most recentCOVID-19 relief packageare starting to arrivein bank accounts and should landin mailboxes in the near future, but the amountswill be noticeably smaller. This fifth round ofCOVID-19 stimulus that President Donald Trump signed into law in late Decemberresembles March's $2.2 trillion CARES Act, but it's not nearly as generous. Continue reading
\nNew COVID-19 stimulus bill is half of March's. How else it differs. - Wausau Daily Herald<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"