华盛顿——周一，众议院民主党人提议向个人直接支付额外的1400美元，因为国会开始拼凑一个1.9万亿美元的新冠肺炎救助计划，该计划旨在跟踪乔·拜登总统对抗流行病和振兴仍然令人震惊的经济的计划。
方法和手段委员会中的民主党人将扩大对有孩子的家庭、低收入人群和购买者的税收抵免健康保险2010年平价医疗法案创造的市场。该委员会计划在本周结束前批准该措施，还将提供医疗保健服务对一些失业工人的补贴。
周一公布了一揽子计划的一部分——超过9000亿美元，几乎是拜登整个计划的一半——与此同时，国会的民主党领导人希望在3月中旬现有的紧急失业救济到期时，尽快将立法提交总统签署。他们的时间表反映了拜登和国会民主党人的愿望，即显示他们能够迅速果断地应对危机，即使他们似乎可能必须挤过共和党的坚决反对。
“虽然我们仍然希望共和党人和我们一起为美国人民做正确的事情，但这一时刻的紧迫性要求我们立即采取行动，”马萨诸塞州民主党主席理查德·尼尔说。
德克萨斯州众议员凯文·布雷迪(Kevin Brady)是该委员会的最高共和党人，他批评民主党人在“没有两党妥协”的情况下推进这项大规模措施。他说，共和党希望专注于疫苗分发和对工人、家庭和小企业的更有针对性的救济——本质上是预览共和党人预计在本周的委员会投票中提出的修正案，其中一些可能会赢得民主党的支持。
众议院教育和劳工委员会民主党人周一也预览了他们的计划。他们的3500亿美元一揽子计划包括1300亿美元帮助学校安全重新开放，400亿美元用于受流行病打击的大学，以及一项逐步将联邦最低工资提高到每小时15美元的计划。最低工资的增加面临着一个艰难的攀升，甚至拜登也承认它可能无法生存。
金融服务委员会的提议包括500亿美元帮助联邦应急管理局处理流行病成本，外加250亿美元用于苦苦挣扎的租房业主和面临无家可归风险的人。交通和基础设施委员会的支出将包括300亿美元的赠款，用于苦苦挣扎的公共交通机构，其乘客人数大幅减少。
民主党在众议院和参议院只有微弱多数。除了可能一致的共和党反对意见之外，民主党人还必须平衡担心一揽子计划走得太远的党内温和派和渴望尽可能向左推动拜登的进步派。
在党内的一个潜在战场上，民主党人提议将1400美元的全额救济金限制在75000美元或更少的个人，并逐步取消，直到他们完全达到100000美元。收入达到15万美元的夫妇将有权获得2800美元的救济金，对于收入达到20万美元的夫妇来说，救济金将逐渐减少并完全消失。
人们有资格获得直接付款的收入水平在民主党人中间造成了分歧，温和派认为，救济应该更狭隘地针对最需要的人。拜登表示，他不会允许人均收入低于1400美元，但表示在收入门槛上有灵活性。
“现在正在讨论这个门槛会是什么样子。结论还没有最终确定，”白宫新闻秘书珍·普萨基说。
国会在12月批准了每人600美元的直接支付。增加的1 400美元将使总数达到2 000美元。民主党人几个月来一直在寻求这一数额，并在时任总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)竞选连任失败期间赢得了他的支持，尽管这遭到了许多国会共和党人的反对。
方法和手段提案将把紧急失业援助从目前的300美元增加到每周400美元。福利将持续到8月29日，而不是现在计划的3月14日。新金额仍低于去年3月颁布、7月31日到期的最初每周600美元的额外福利。
该计划将通过增加一年的家庭儿童税收抵免来消除儿童贫困。现在最高每年2000美元，6岁以下儿童最高可达3600美元，17岁以下儿童最高可达3000美元。信贷将按月支付，甚至支付给不欠联邦所得税的家庭——这与现行政策不同。
该法案还为人们获取和保留提供了几种途径健康保险，包括对拜登承诺在奥巴马基础上更进一步的早期测试医疗保健服务法律。
其中一部分将增加前总统巴拉克·奥巴马的健康法提供的补贴。拜登政府已经宣布，从下周一开始，ACA的覆盖面将有三个月的特别注册期。众议院法案中更慷慨的财政援助将在今年和明年提供。
该法案还将涵盖下岗后试图保留工作健康保险的员工85%的保费成本。一项名为COBRA的联邦法律已经允许他们暂时保留旧雇主的健康计划，但他们通常必须支付过高的保费。援助将持续到9月30日。
对于没有孩子的工人，该计划提议大幅扩大所得税抵免——一种可退还的抵免，目前由平均年收入为2万美元的纳税人申请。EITC被其支持者视为劳动人民的主要扶贫工具。
这项立法呼吁将无子女工人的最高信用额度提高近两倍，并扩大适用范围。它还包括对一些接受流行病援助的餐馆的税收减免。
这些法案的细节是在无党派的国会预算办公室(Congressional Budget Office)的一份报告中宣布的，该报告称，将最低工资提高到每小时15美元将增加失业率，尽管这提高了数百万工人的工资。
像伯尼·桑德斯这样的进步人士。最低工资立法的作者希望民主党人现在就为之奋斗。它面临着共和党和一些民主党温和派的反对，他们担心它会在大流行期间伤害小企业。
Dems propose $1,400 payments as part of Biden virus relief
WASHINGTON -- House Democrats on Monday proposed an additional $1,400 in direct payments to individuals as Congress began piecing together a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that tracks President Joe Biden's plan for battling the pandemic and reviving a still staggering economy.
Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee would expand tax credits for families with children, for lower-earning people and those buying health insurance on marketplaces created by the 2010 Affordable Care Act. The panel, which plans to approve the measure by week’s end, would also provide health care subsidies for some unemployed workers.
Monday's Ways and Means unveiling of its piece of the package — at over $900 billion, nearly half of Biden's entire plan — came with Congress' Democratic leaders hoping to rush the legislation to the president for his signature by mid-March, when existing emergency unemployment benefits expire. Their schedule reflects a desire by Biden and congressional Democrats to show they can respond swiftly and decisively to the crisis, even if, as seems likely, they must muscle past solid Republican opposition.
“While it is still our hope that Republicans will join us in doing right by the American people, the urgency of the moment demands that we act without further delay," said Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass.
Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, top Republican on that committee, criticized Democrats for driving ahead on the massive measure “without bipartisan compromise.” He said the GOP wants to focus on vaccine distribution and more targeted relief for workers, families and small businesses — essentially previewing amendments Republicans are expected to propose during committee votes this week, some of which might win Democratic backing.
House Education and Labor Committee Democrats also previewed their plans Monday. Their $350 billion package includes $130 billion to help schools reopen safely, $40 billion for colleges battered by the pandemic and a plan to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. The minimum wage increase faces an uphill climb, and even Biden has conceded it likely won't survive.
The Financial Services Committee proposal includes $50 billion to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency handle pandemic costs, plus $25 billion for struggling rental property owners and people at risk of homelessness. Transportation and Infrastructure Committee spending would include grants of $30 billion for struggling public transit agencies with starkly reduced ridership.
Democrats have only narrow House and Senate majorities. Besides Republican opposition that could be unanimous, Democrats will have to balance party moderates who worry about a package going too far and progressives eager to push Biden as far leftward as they can.
In one potential battleground within the party, the Ways and Means Democrats proposed limiting the full $1,400 relief payments to individuals making $75,000 or less, and phasing them out until they end completely at $100,000. Couples who make up to $150,000 would be entitled to $2,800 relief payments, which would gradually diminish and fully disappear for those earning $200,000.
The income levels at which people qualify for the direct payments has caused rifts among Democrats, with moderates arguing that relief should be more narrowly targeted to people most in need. Biden has said he will not allow the per-person payments to fall below $1,400 but has indicated flexibility on the income thresholds.
“There is a discussion right now about what that threshold will look like. A conclusion has not been finalized,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Congress approved $600 per person direct payments in December. The additional $1,400 would bring the total to $2,000. Democrats have sought that amount for months, and it won support from then-President Donald Trump during his unsuccessful reelection campaign, even as it was opposed by many congressional Republicans.
The Ways and Means proposal would increase emergency jobless aid to $400 weekly from its current $300. Benefits would last until Aug. 29, instead of March 14 as now scheduled. The new amount is still below the original $600 extra weekly benefit that was enacted last March but expired July 31.
The plan would fight child poverty by increasing the child tax credit for families for one year. Now a maximum $2,000 annually, it would grow to up to $3,600 per child under 6 and as much as $3,000 for those up to age 17. Payments of the credit would be made monthly, even to families that owe no federal income taxes — a change from current policy.
The bill also provides several pathways for people to get and keep health insurance, including an early test of Biden’s pledge to build on Obama's health care law.
One section would sweeten the subsidies provided under former President Barack Obama's health law. The Biden administration has already announced a three-month special sign-up period for ACA coverage starting next Monday. The more generous financial assistance in the House bill would be available for this year and next.
The bill would also cover 85% of the cost of premiums for workers trying to preserve their job-based health insurance after getting laid off. A federal law known as COBRA already allows them to temporarily keep their old employer’s health plan, but they typically have to pay prohibitively high premiums. The assistance would be available through Sept. 30.
For workers without children, the plan proposes a significant expansion of the earned-income tax credit — a refundable credit currently claimed by taxpayers who earn an average $20,000 a year. The EITC is viewed by its proponents as a major anti-poverty tool for working people.
The legislation calls for the maximum credit for workers without children to be nearly tripled and for wider eligibility. It also contains tax breaks for some restaurants that have received pandemic aid.
The bills' details were announced as a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said boosting the minimum wage to $15 an hour would increase joblessness even as it boosts wages for millions of workers.
Progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., author of the minimum wage legislation, want Democrats to fight for it now. It faces opposition from the GOP and some Democratic moderates wary that it will hurt small businesses during the pandemic.
