House Democrats' stimulus plan would result in 8.8 million more families getting a check — here's why

The current COVID-19 stimulus relief signed into law will give millions of Americans up to $600, with a new measure passed by House Democrats raising that to $2,000.

But the House Democratic plan doesn't just pay more — as The Washington Post revealed, it would also result in 8.8 million more families getting money who, under the original stimulus, wouldn't be eligible for anything at all. That's because of how the means testing in the stimulus works.

"The phaseout structure is still the same, but because the check itself is larger, people making up to $115,000 would still get something. The new bill also covers adult dependents," reported Rachel Siegel. "For example, under the stimulus package already signed into law, a family of four making more than $198,000 would get nothing. Under the House plan, the high-income threshold rises to $310,000. In that plan, a family of four making up to $150,000 would receive $8,000. If that same family were making $300,000, they would still get $500."

"Ernie Tedeschi, an economist and former Treasury Department official in the Obama administration, estimated that 8.8 million more families will get a check of some sort under the House plan," continued the report.

The fate of the House plan is uncertain. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has demanded that the stimulus be tied to two unrelated provisions that repeal internet speech protections and establish a "voter fraud" commission — something Democrats will likely object to, and which would have almost no time to pass the House before the session of Congress ends.