North Texan residents who were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic may still be eligible for additional federal financial aid through President Joe Biden’s American Jobs and American Families Plan.
“So many North Texas families are still struggling with the financial impact of this pandemic,” U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (D-Dallas) said. “I voted to pass the #AmericanRescuePlan to provide relief, and families that need help paying rent can use this tool to find state and local assistance.”
The IRS has distributed the third round of $1,400 payments, and more than 160 million checks have been distributed since mid-March. While impacted residents can still apply for aid, it remains to be seen if more stimulus payments will be distributed. Democrats are calling for additional stimulus payments while Republicans oppose them on grounds they’re adding to what they believe is a bloated deficit.
While Democratic parties continue to push for a permanent aid benefit system for jobless individuals, which includes recurring payments, Republican parties are concerned about the $4 trillion American Jobs and American Families Plan funding’s ability. They believe it can cause a potential budget deficit and market crash and expressed that weekly unemployment checks may discourage the public from returning to work.
To fund the infrastructure plan, Biden’s administration has proposed to nearly double the capital gains tax to 39.6% for those who earn more than $1 million a year and ultimately boost the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. According to USA Today, the president has not yet confirmed plans for a fourth round of financial aid.
As the economy and job market begin to reestablish itself by recuperating 3.9 million, or 62%, of the 22.4 million jobs lost in the pandemic recession, tax experts and labor market analyzers, however, do not expect to see an additional round of stimulus check dispersion. If distributed, the third round of Biden’s American Rescue Plan’s financial aid would help 6.6 to 7.3 million individuals rise from poverty.
“There is a question in front of Congress about whether we should do anything else with additional stimulus payments,” Elaine Maag, a principal research associate in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute, said “The bottom line is that we could further reduce poverty and could provide additional assistance with another round of these broad payments that smaller or more target measures just can’t do.”