Trump Signs Stimulus: What It Means For New Yorkers
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NEW YORK — A stroke of President Donald Trump’s pen Sunday night averted a crisis of his own making and set the stage for another round of coronavirus relief for New York.
Most New Yorkers can expect at least $600 stimulus checks in the coming weeks — though when exactly is still being worked out — after Trump belatedly signed a $900 billion relief package.
Trump’s abrupt threat last week to scuttle the bill if it didn’t include $2,000 checks left its fate in limbo. Congress went into recess over the Christmas holiday without a signed bill, and millions of Americans saw their coronavirus unemployment benefits expire on Saturday.
A government shutdown and other hardship loomed until Trump just as abruptly signed the bill he called a “disgrace.”
So what does the bill do for New Yorkers? Here’s a quick guide.
Stimulus checks
They aren’t the $2,000 checks that Trump and Democrats wanted, but they’re something.
The bill offers stimulus checks of $600 for individual Americans with an adjusted gross income of up to $75,000 a year.
Couples or household heads who make up to $150,000 can expect $1,200 checks, plus $600 for each dependent child.
People with direct deposit with the IRS likely will get the checks first. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC last week that it could be a matter of days before Americans see those direct payments.
“This is a very, very fast way of getting money into the economy. Let me emphasize: People are going to see this money at the beginning of next week,” Mnuchin said, according to a CNBC report.
But that was thrown into question by Trump’s veto threat. It remains to be seen if Trump’s delay in signing the bill translates into a longer wait for the checks.
Unemployment extension
Out of work people can collect federal unemployment benefits for another 11 weeks under the bill, which also restarts an additional payment on top of state aid.
That payment called Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation will be $300 going forward, rather than $600 it was previously.
The New York Times reported that Trump’s delay in signing the bill could have cost recipients a week out of the 11 weeks. Again, it remains to be seen if recipients will be able to receive the full 11 weeks of payments.
The extension on unemployment benefits ends March 14 for recipients who’ve reached the maximum. Those who haven’t can collect until April 5.
Self-employed New Yorkers, gig workers and other New Yorkers in "non-traditional" employment can receive more help from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, according to a release. The deal extends the program and lengthens the number of weeks from 39 to 50.
What else?
The relief package also includes aid for New York City, though not as much as some officials like Mayor Bill de Blasio hoped.
Those are:
MTA will receive $4.2 billion in aid from the deal — a cash infusion that helps the transit agency avert a 40 percent service cut and other draconian measures.
New York and the city are expected to get the lion's share of $15 billion nationally set aside for Broadway, comedy halls, music venues, other live entertainment, independent movie theaters and cultural institutions. The "Save Our Stages" relief comes as Broadway is expected to remain dark until May 2021.
The deal includes a $251 million rental assistance allocation for the city.
The bill also will provide $20 billion to New York for another round of Paycheck Protection Program loans.
This article originally appeared on the New York City Patch
