House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Democrats may rewrite President Biden’s stimulus check proposal to a lower-income threshold.
“The president himself has indicated that he is open to that,” the Maryland Democrat told reporters Wednesday. “I don’t want to speculate on the figure, but I think that may well be under consideration for adjustment from the one that was passed in December.”
Senate Republicans raised the issue last month that the Biden proposal to send a new round of stimulus checks adheres to the same formula applied in the $900 billion COVID-19 aid package passed in December. It provided stimulus checks in a manner that some people earning six figures were eligible to receive them. Checks were issued to individuals earning $75,000 and couples earning up to $150,000.
Those checks were worth $600, and Biden is now seeking to augment the payment with a new round of $1,400 checks. Republicans first proposed limiting the checks for those earning more than $40,000. Democrats haven’t agreed to those terms but are considering narrowing the payments.
Ten Republicans met with Biden Monday at the White House and raised the issue of shrinking the eligibility for the checks.
The move could help Biden draw in bipartisan support for his COVID-19 relief package.
Democrats are open to changing the formula, and Hoyer supports the move.
“I, frankly, think that is correct,” Hoyer said.
