Covid-19 Relief Bill - What you need to know

[lpetrich]

Democrats Support Trump Demand For $2,000 Payments Some Were Pushing For All Along | HuffPost

In May, three Democratic senators ― Kamala Harris of California, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Ed Markey of Massachusetts ― introduced a bill that would provide $2,000 relief payments to many individuals in the United States. But the Republican-controlled Senate never brought the bill to a vote.

“Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks,” Pelosi wrote in her tweet Tuesday. “At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 — Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent.”

Covid stimulus update: Trump threat could force shutdown, unemployment lapse

Some more end-of-year drama llama:
Trump vetoes $740 billion NDAA defense bill - the National Defense Authorization Act
It earlier passed with veto-proof majorities in both houses.

Congress must now vote again to override Trump. The House is slated to return from the holidays on Monday, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said his chamber would vote on overriding the veto Tuesday.

This year’s 4,517-page defense bill, which typically passes with strong bipartisan support and veto-proof majorities, funds America’s national security portfolio. It has been signed into law for nearly six consecutive decades.

 

[Gospel]

Meanwhile in "apparently we needed to sell out in order to just get a fucking budget passed the GOP"...

No break is bigger, however, than the deductions that will soon be permitted under the Paycheck Protection Program. Businesses had been lobbying the Treasury Department and the IRS since the spring to deduct spending from PPP loans, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was firmly opposed, saying deducting expenditures from funds not considered taxable income violated “Tax 101.”

The PPP was the most visible part of the federal government’s coronavirus relief efforts in the spring to keep small businesses afloat. So far, the government has distributed more than $500 billion in loans, which could be forgiven and turned into permanent grants as long as the businesses use most of the money to pay workers and keep people employed.

So umm... they woudn't get taxed on the free money... and use of said free money is now deductible. Can I deduct the check I received?

That's why I don't get angry at the guy/gal holding a cardboard sign asking for money at the busy intersection. Our beloved corporations do that everyday all day too.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Holy crap. I think trump is doing something I agree with. Not signing the package.

Stopped clocks.

 

[Harry Bosch]

Meanwhile in "apparently we needed to sell out in order to just get a fucking budget passed the GOP"...

No break is bigger, however, than the deductions that will soon be permitted under the Paycheck Protection Program. Businesses had been lobbying the Treasury Department and the IRS since the spring to deduct spending from PPP loans, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was firmly opposed, saying deducting expenditures from funds not considered taxable income violated “Tax 101.”

The PPP was the most visible part of the federal government’s coronavirus relief efforts in the spring to keep small businesses afloat. So far, the government has distributed more than $500 billion in loans, which could be forgiven and turned into permanent grants as long as the businesses use most of the money to pay workers and keep people employed.

So umm... they woudn't get taxed on the free money... and use of said free money is now deductible. Can I deduct the check I received?

Well, individual stimulus isn't taxed as income. For my company, I show the PPP as "other income" on my P&L. Would be awesome if this other other income weren't taxed just like the individual stimulus wasn't taxed. But I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Meanwhile in "apparently we needed to sell out in order to just get a fucking budget passed the GOP"...

No break is bigger, however, than the deductions that will soon be permitted under the Paycheck Protection Program. Businesses had been lobbying the Treasury Department and the IRS since the spring to deduct spending from PPP loans, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was firmly opposed, saying deducting expenditures from funds not considered taxable income violated “Tax 101.”

The PPP was the most visible part of the federal government’s coronavirus relief efforts in the spring to keep small businesses afloat. So far, the government has distributed more than $500 billion in loans, which could be forgiven and turned into permanent grants as long as the businesses use most of the money to pay workers and keep people employed.

So umm... they woudn't get taxed on the free money... and use of said free money is now deductible. Can I deduct the check I received?

Well, individual stimulus isn't taxed as income. For my company, I show the PPP as "other income" on my P&L. Would be awesome if this other other income weren't taxed just like the individual stimulus wasn't taxed. But I'm not holding my breath.

This isn't about being taxed on the stimulus... it is about ​also being able to deduct the use of it!

 

[ZiprHead]

Hidden in the bill combining Covid relief and government spending is a cool $200 billion in tax breaks. One tax expert estimates that $120 billion of those tax breaks will go to the top 1 percent. Those giveaways include:

—A $2.5 billion break for racecar tracks

—A $6.3 billion write-off for business meals, i.e. the “three-martini lunch” deduction

—A new provision under the Paycheck Protection Program that allows forgiven loans to also be tax deductible, giving businesses the ability to “double dip” into the program

The bill also creates an independent commission to oversee horse racing, at the behest of Mitch McConnell. There’s no question about it: This pandemic has both revealed and exacerbated our already staggering economic inequality. Republicans didn’t blink twice when they doled out $6.3 billion so their corporate backers could write off pricey lunches, but when it came to getting direct relief to struggling Americans $600 was the best they could do. Their priorities couldn’t be clearer.

..

 

[ZiprHead]

Well, individual stimulus isn't taxed as income. For my company, I show the PPP as "other income" on my P&L. Would be awesome if this other other income weren't taxed just like the individual stimulus wasn't taxed. But I'm not holding my breath.

This isn't about being taxed on the stimulus... it is about ​also being able to deduct the use of it!

Explained a little more here.

Buried in Pandemic Aid Bill: Billions to Soothe the Richest

It involves the tens of thousands of businesses that received loans from the federal government this spring with the promise that the loans would be forgiven, tax free, if they agreed to keep employees on the payroll through the coronavirus pandemic.

But for some businesses and their high-paid accountants, that was not enough. They went to Congress with another request: Not only should the forgiven loans not be taxed as income, but the expenditures used with those loans should be tax deductible.

“High-income business owners have had tax benefits and unprecedented government grants showered down upon them. And the scale is massive,” said Adam Looney, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former Treasury Department tax official in the Obama administration, who estimated that $120 billion of the $200 billion would flow to the top 1 percent of Americans.

The new provision allows for a classic double dip into the Payroll Protection Program, as businesses get free money from the government, then get to deduct that largess from their taxes.

 

[southernhybrid]

Since Trump signed the bill yesterday evening, I guess it's all moot now. It's insane that it's so hard to get anything passed these days without all kinds of unrelated things stuck into the bill. And, the Democrats put a lot of things into this bill along with the Republicans. But, as long as the Congress is so split and partisanship is so extreme, I think that's going to continue. I doubt it's even going to change if the two Dems surprise us and win the Georgia runoffs.

 

[lpetrich]

Trump signs stimulus bill into law and averts shutdown - The Washington Post - "The president had demanded changes to the stimulus bill but on Sunday moved to release the stimulus funds after all"

President Trump unexpectedly capitulated Sunday night and signed the stimulus bill into law, releasing $900 billion in emergency relief funds into the economy and averting a Tuesday government shutdown.

After holding the bill up for nearly a week, White House officials didn’t explain why he decided to suddenly back down and sign a bill into law he had just days earlier referred to as a “disgrace.”

Trump signed the bill while vacationing in Florida and on a weekend when he had allowed unemployment benefits for 14 million Americans to expire.

Trump signs coronavirus relief and government funding bill into law after lengthy delay - CNNPolitics

The estimated 12 million people in two key pandemic unemployment programs, who were facing their last payment this weekend, will now receive benefits for another 11 weeks. Plus, all those collecting jobless payments will receive a $300 weekly federal boost through mid-March.

Whew! We can rest easier, and a $600 check ought to be on the way to each of us before long. It may not be $2000, but it's better than nothing.

Kaitlan Collins on Twitter: "Trump has signed the coronavirus relief bill." / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Great, now he can sign @RashidaTlaib and I’s amendment to bring the $600 checks to $2k " / Twitter

I found this response:
Whatdidkentweet on Twitter: "@AOC @RashidaTlaib
*Arsonist starts fire*
*Arsonist flees scene*
*Crowd watches fire in disbelief*
*Arsonist returns with fire extinguisher and demands to be called a hero*

Trumpism 101" / Twitter

 

[RVonse]

I wonder why he changed his mind?

 

[RVonse]

..

 

[ZiprHead]

Seen elsewhere...

I’m going to buy 53 cheap dildos with my $600 stimulus so everyone in the GOP Senate can go fuck themselves.

 

[Jarhyn]

Seen elsewhere...

I’m going to buy 53 cheap dildos with my $600 stimulus so everyone in the GOP Senate can go fuck themselves.

That's like 12 dollars a dildo. Those are some really cheap.dildos. I would as soon trust a tRump brand dildo as one at those prices.

Then, the GOP doesn't seem too particular about whose dick is in their ass, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[lpetrich]

Erik Wasson on Twitter: "STIMULUS: increasing checks to $2,000 costs $464 billion says official scorekeeper of Congress (link)" / Twitter
noting
JCX-25-20 | Joint Committee on Taxation

Estimated Revenue Effects Of H.R. 9051, The "Caring For Americans With Supplemental Help ('CASH') Act Of 2020," Scheduled For Consideration By The House Of Representatives On December 28, 2020

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "That’s okay with me.

Alternatively, if conservatives are suddenly so concerned w/ the cost of the bill, maybe they should focus on stripping their cushy tax giveaways for 3 martini lunches and thoroughbred racehorses instead of blocking critical support for working people." / Twitter

 

[none]

um this just means the wealthiest 1% has been given over 6 trillion dollars. since trump been in office.

 

[lpetrich]

Trump signs massive measure funding government, COVID relief - datelined West Palm Beach, FL - "The signing, at his private club in Florida ..."

So he signed the bill in Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate. "It was unclear what, if anything, Trump accomplished with his delay, beyond angering all sides and empowering Democrats to continue their push for higher relief checks, which his own party opposes."

How do his underlings put up with him being such a big baby? How do Republican politicians do so?

The Associated Press on Twitter: "BREAKING: AP source: President Trump signs pandemic relief and government-funding measure, averting government shutdown. Find updates here: (link)" / Twitter

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "The aid Congress passed before Christmas will now be distributed. For a break down of what that includes and how to access it, see here: (link) The House expects to vote today, in the early evening, on an amendment to increase survival checks to $2k." / Twitter
Linking to
The December 2020 COVID-19 Relief Package | Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - what's in it, in detail

 

[lpetrich]

House backs increasing coronavirus stimulus checks to $2,000 - "The bill faces an uphill battle in the GOP-run Senate despite Trump's support."

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill Monday evening to increase direct coronavirus relief payments to some people to $2,000, though the measure faces an uphill battle in the Republican-run Senate, despite support from President Donald Trump.

The legislation would increase the $600 in direct payments to those who earned less than $75,000 last year to $2,000. Because the bill was brought up using an expedited procedure, it required a two-thirds majority to pass the House.

MSNBC on Twitter: "BREAKING: US House passes bill that would increase Covid stimulus payments from $600 to $2,000 by 275-134 vote, needing two-thirds majority to pass.

Measure now moves to US Senate.
Story: (links)" / Twitter
"On motion to suspend the rules and pass" - 9051

• D: Y 231, N: 2
• R: Y 44, N 130, nv: 21
• Total: Y 275, N 134, nv: 21

It passed, 67% - 33%. Unfortunately, congress.gov and clerk.house.gov are not very up-to-date. I checked on Transition Live Updates: House Votes to Increase Size of Stimulus Checks - The New York Times and it had next to nothing on who voted what, mentioning only Steve Scalise R-LA and Jim Jordan R-OH as voting against it. Kevin Brady R-TX complained that it was “hastily dropped on us at the last minute” and stated that “I worry that this whopping $463 billion won’t do what’s needed, stimulate the economy or help workers get back to work.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "A few weeks ago, survival checks weren’t even on the table.

Then, progressive members came together and told leadership we would not vote for a bill that didn’t include survival checks. Period.

Today, we successfully voted to pass $2,000 survival checks in the House." / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Erik Wasson on Twitter: "Blue Dog Democrat @RepSchrader comes out against the $2,000 checks bill. "People who are making six figure incomes and who have not been impact by Covid-19 do not need checks,"" / Twitter

Jessica Grace on Twitter: "@elwasson @RepSchrader Who is in Oregon’s 5th to primary Rep Schrader? He doesn’t represent his constituents, so who does he represent?" / Twitter

Jessica Grace on Twitter: "@elwasson @RepSchrader .@justicedems we’re going to need to build the west coast squad ASAP. Start here!

@RepSchrader also voted against $15 minimum wage. Who tf this guy representing?" / Twitter

Colby Williams on Twitter: "@IsicaLynn @elwasson @RepSchrader @justicedems Seriously! There are so many corrupt dems in “safe” seats on the west coast." / Twitter

Jessica Grace on Twitter: "@PeaceOverProfit @elwasson @RepSchrader @justicedems Let’s make it the Left Coast again!" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

AOC addressed the means-testing issue:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "1st of all, aid starts phasing out at $75k

2. it’s already tied to outdated income info, don’t make it worse

3. Ppl who made $100k+ also had income disrupted

4. Is this really a good reason to block aid for millions

5. If you’re going to err, err on the side of helping people" / Twitter

Matt Fuller on Twitter: "Kevin Brady says he opposes $2,000 checks because it would go toward people paying down credit card debt or making “new purchases online at Wal-Mart, Best Buy or Amazon.”

Funny, how people spent money didn't seem to be a huge concern when Republicans passed their tax cut bill." / Twitter

Then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "“I don’t support $2k survival checks because it might help people get out of debt that our gov’t inaction helped put or keep them in in the first place.” - GOP Congressman" / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Notice how Republican Congressmen who like to claim they are the party of “personal responsibility” refuse to take any responsibility themselves for blocking retroactive unemployment benefits, voting against $2k survival checks, stoking doubt about the pandemic to begin with, etc" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Taniel on Twitter: " The House passed the bill for $2,000 checks by meeting the 2/3rds threshold for an expedited "suspendion of the rules" process.

Now on McConnell (and Perdue, and Loeffler)." / Twitter

Taniel on Twitter: "The 2 Democrats who voted "no" were Dan Lipinski (one of the most conservative House Dems who lost a primary in March and is out of office in 5 days) & OR's Kurt Schrader.

Bill passed via support of 231 Dems, plus 44 Republicans." / Twitter
Relieved to discover which Democrats voted against this bill.

Taniel on Twitter: "Marie Newman, the progressive who ousted Dan Lipinsky in the #IL03 primary, has made clear that unlike him she *supports* the bill for $2,000 checks.

She tweeted this am (@Marie4Congress): "My constituents need money now for food and rent— they cannot wait another 8 months."" / Twitter
MN herself:
Marie Newman on Twitter: "The President finally signed a bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill ..." / Twitter

The President finally signed a bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill only after threatening a government shutdown, obstructing national vaccine distribution, and forcing more than 12 million Americans to lose their unemployment benefits due to his careless delay.
Thread.

While this bill provides a vital lifeline to struggling families, workers, and small businesses, it is not nearly enough. Americans deserve and need much more.

I'm glad Democrats are voting today to increase direct payment checks to $2,000, and I hope the GOP will do the same.

My constituents need money now for food and rent— they cannot wait another 8 months. We can put this money in their pockets if Congressional Republicans join us in passing legislation for $2,000 checks. We will also begin work on the next relief package immediately.

Seems like Rep. DL was very worth primarying.