WASHINGTON (Nexstar) — Families will soon receive stimulus checks from the government to help them cope with the tough economic situation created by the pandemic. Lawmakers said that soon after the holidays, newly approved stimulus checks should provide some much needed relief.
“I think the Grinch is stealing the Christmas of a lot of children,” said Democratic Rep. Norma Torres of California. “When I step outside of my home in Pomona and I see a line, a food line, that is miles and miles long, it’s heartbreaking.”
Americans who earn less than $75,000 a year will each get $600. That amount will decrease as income increases, and individuals who earn more than $87,000 or couples who make more than $174,000 will not get checks.
Families who qualify will also get $600 for each dependent child under the age of 17.
This time, American citizens and residents who are married to an undocumented immigrant will also get stimulus checks and will retroactively get the first round of $1200 checks.
Republican Representatives Tom Reed of New York and Rodney Davis of Illinois said the bill isn’t exactly what the GOP wanted.
“We were always looking at what do the American people need, not what politically should we be focusing on, but what is substantively the right thing to do,” Reed said.
“This bill is a compromise,” said Davis. “You got to give a little and you get a little.”
Lawmakers say this round of financial help should roll out more smoothly. Social Security, SSI and VA beneficiaries should automatically receive their checks. And Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said those checks will start arriving as early as next week.