The study, published Wednesday, found that the poorest 60% of households — those with incomes of less than $65,000 — would see their incomes increase by about 11% from a $2,000 payment. That compares with a 3% increase from the $600 payment that was part of the COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress and signed by outgoing President Donald Trump in December 2020, the study said.
The impact would be "even more dramatic" for Americans with the lowest incomes, the report said. The poorest quintile — those with incomes below $21,300 — would see their income increase by about 29% compared to 8%, the study said.
The ITEP report did not consider the economic impact of higher payments going to households with a member who is a legal immigrant, but not a citizen. The COVID-19 relief bill did not allow payments to immigrant parents, but did allow them to families with a parent who was a citizen and family members with a Social Security number. Increasing the amount of payments to parents and their citizen children to $2,000 would give these families an additional $10.8 billion, the report said.
Immigrants using individual taxpayer identification numbers and their citizen spouses and children were excluded from the initial round of payments in the first coronavirus stimulus bill, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act
signed by Trump in March.The House of Representatives on Dec. 28 approved $2,000 impact payments as part of the Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help Act of 2020. The Senate did not pass the measure.
--Editing by Joyce Laskowski.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.