Congress Passes COVID Relief: What DC/VA Residents Need To Know

WASHINGTON, DC — More aid for cash-strapped and pandemic-weary Virginia and Washington, D.C., residents could soon be on the way now that the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday passed a final version of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

The goal was to pass the American Rescue Plan, which aims to combat the pandemic and bolster the U.S. economy, and deliver it to President Joe Biden by March 14 — the day emergency jobless benefits expire. Biden is supposed to sign the bill Friday, according to media reports.

As with the Senate version, House Republicans were unanimous in their opposition to the bill. In Virginia, all seven House Democrats, including the entire Northern Virginia delegation, voted for the relief package, while the four Republican members of Congress from the state opposed it.

Only Rep. Jared Golden, a Maine Democrat, broke with his party to vote against the bill.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, in a statement, thanked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC, for helping to secure $2 billion in relief for the District of Columbia.

"I also want to thank the residents of DC for continuing to advocate for the funding we were owed," Bowser said. "Without a vote, our voice is all we have, and since March 2020, Washingtonians have remained steadfast in their advocacy for full and equitable funding."

Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, welcomed passage of the final version of the bill. "We have acted with the urgency this pandemic demands," the senior senator from Virginia wrote in a tweet. "Now that the #AmericanResucePlan has passed the House again, I can confidently say help is on the way."

"Help is on the way!" Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-VA, who represents the 10th congressional district, tweeted. "After a year of unimaginable difficulties for families across the country, the #AmericanRescuePlan will help us finally put this pandemic behind us."

Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who is seeking a second term as governor, noted Wednesday that the American Rescue Plan will bring direct help to Virginians, including sending $6.4 billion to the state and localities and investing in the expansion rural broadband.

"It’s a shame that not a single Republican Member of Congress, including none of the Republicans representing our Commonwealth, voted for this much-needed infusion of dollars," McAuliffe, said in a statement issued March 3 after the House passed the original version of the bill before it went to the Senate.

RELATED: How To Get The COVID-19 Vaccine In Virginia

Former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, who is running for governor, said Wednesday the "historic legislation provides much-needed relief for working families and small businesses across our Commonwealth who have been suffering."

"From direct stimulus payments and extending unemployment benefits, to funding the distribution of the vaccine and supporting small businesses, this bill goes a very long way toward beating the virus and rescuing our economy," Carroll Foy said in a statement.

State Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, who is also running for governor, noted that child care providers have been hit hard by this pandemic as have the working families who need affordable child care options.

"The American Rescue Plan makes a significant investment in child care, and I'm glad to see dedicated relief for this crucial priority," she wrote in a tweet.

Stimulus Checks

Most notably, the measure will provide the much-anticipated $1,400 payments to individuals who meet certain income criteria.

The maximum amount for the third round of stimulus checks will be $1,400 for any eligible individual or $2,800 per eligible couple filing taxes jointly. Each eligible dependent — including adult dependents — also will qualify for a payment of $1,400. That means a family of four could receive as much as $5,600 in total.

Checks of up to $1,400 will go to individuals making $80,000 or less, single parents earning up to $120,000 and couples with household income of less than $160,000.

According to CNET, checks sent to direct deposit accounts could start going out the week of March 17. Paper checks could start being mailed the following week.

Child Tax Credit

One big benefit that could help families around the country is a boost in the child tax credit.

The credit, which is now at a maximum of $2,000, is being raised to as much as $3,600 per child under 6 and $3,000 per child between the ages of 6 and 16 for 2021. It will be paid out in monthly installments starting in this July and will include more low-income households.

The expanded credit begins to phase out for those earning $75,000 a year or $150,000 for couples.

More Federal Aid

In addition to direct payments, the legislation would provide hundreds of billions of dollars for schools and colleges, coronavirus vaccines and testing, mass transit systems, renters and small businesses.

It also has money for child care and assistance for states willing to expand Medicaid coverage for low-income residents.

Federal unemployment payments of $300 per week will be extended through Sept. 6.

An increase in the minimum wage was not a part of the House bill that just passed.