Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden's First Big Legislative Win: White House Touts Relief Bill
President Biden tweeted moments after the House of Representatives passed the bill that 鈥淗elp is here 鈥 and brighter days lie ahead.鈥 He later told reporters that 鈥淭his bill represents a historic victory for the American people,鈥 while the White House also released a slickly produced video touting the passage, and Democrats on Capitol Hill staged an elaborate signing ceremony. (Lemire, 3/10)
Biden, who is expected to sign the bill Friday, will travel Tuesday to Delaware County, a suburb of Philadelphia that was key to his victory in Pennsylvania, and Vice President Kamala Harris will travel Monday to Las Vegas; Nevada is another key swing state. The stops are expected to be the first in a string of trips for Biden and Harris in the coming weeks. The road trip will follow Biden's first prime-time address to the American people, scheduled for Thursday night. (Pettypiece, Welker and Gardenswartz, 3/10)
Over half the money 鈥 54 percent 鈥 in the bill goes toward households. In addition to the popular $1,400 checks, there is also funding for extra unemployment insurance through Labor Day, expanded tax credits, and various programs to make rent, food and health insurance more affordable. Economists say low- and moderate-income Americans will benefit the most from this aid, especially individuals earning $75,000 or less and couples earning $150,000 or less. The number of Americans living in poverty is predicted to drop in 2021 by as much as a third because of this legislation. (Fowers, Long and Schaul, 3/10)
President Joe Biden laid out an ambitious agenda for his first 100 days in office, promising swift action on everything from climate change to immigration reform to the coronavirus pandemic. On his 50th day in office, on Wednesday, his administration celebrated a milestone: congressional passage of his massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package. The bill includes direct payments to millions of Americans and money to help the White House deliver on a number of Biden鈥檚 biggest campaign promises, like reopening schools and getting more Americans vaccinated. (Jaffe, 3/10)
When will you receive a stimulus check? 鈥
With President Biden on the verge of signing his coronavirus relief bill into law, the administration now faces a聽race against the clock in trying to get relief out the door as quickly as possible. White House officials expect the $1,400 direct payments designated for most Americans will聽be sent out by the end of March. But other forms of assistance in the $1.9 trillion package could take longer to allocate. (Chalfant and Jagoda, 3/10)
The American Rescue Plan Act is expected to be signed by President Biden on Friday, and stimulus payments could start being sent out within days of him signing. That means Americans could start seeing the money as early as next week. The first people to receive the checks are likely those who have direct deposit set up with the IRS. That鈥檚 because the government already has their account information on file and doesn鈥檛 need to go through the process of printing, sorting and mailing physical checks or pre-paid debit cards. Americans who don鈥檛 have direct deposit will have to wait for the payments to be produced and sent, a process that can be time consuming. (Vega, 3/10)
鈥淲e are doing everything in our power to expedite the payments and not delay them, which is why the president's name will not appear on the memo line of this round of checks," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday.聽Instead, the checks will be signed by an official from the Bureau of Fiscal Service, Psaki said, adding that Biden does not believe including his signature on the payments is a 鈥減riority鈥 or a 鈥渘ecessary step.鈥澛(Hansen, 3/9)