The $1.9 trillion stimulus package announced by the Biden administration will lower the income cap on the next round of direct payments. This means that millions of Americans who received the first and second rounds of the stimulus package will not be eligible this time around, and many more will receive less than expected.

President Joe Biden met with Senate Democrats this week and agreed to completely eliminate the stimulus checks for individual taxpayers over $80,000 and married couples over $160,000. Taxpayers up to $75,000 and $150,000, respectively, will receive the full $1,400 per taxpayer plus an equal amount for each eligible dependent.

Under the previous Biden proposal, individuals were capped at $100,000 and couples at $200,000.

Estimates of the impact of this change vary widely: the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates that 17 million people would be ineligible under the new Senate bill, while right-leaning groups like the Tax Foundation and American Right-leaning groups such as the Tax Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute estimate 6.5 to 8.7 million.

In addition to the millions of individuals and families who will be completely ineligible, other taxpayers will see far fewer checks than expected.

Under the bill passed by the House last week, single filers would see their payments phased out by $25,000 (between $75,000 for the full amount and $100,000 for the maximum) and married couples filing jointly would see their payments phased out by a $50,000 window.

Under the new limits agreed to by Biden and Senate Democrats, single filers will receive just $5,000 and married couples filing jointly will have their payments phased out at $10,000. Americans who thought they would receive more than $1,000 may receive only a few hundred dollars.

For the stimulus package to pass the Senate without Republican support, all Democrats must vote for it.

Some moderate Senators, such as Senator Joe Manchin (R-West Virginia), have called for changes to cut spending, especially regarding eligibility for the stimulus package. Their argument is that people at higher income levels do not need the money.

"I think that even if you lower it below the $200,000 [income level], the households that really need it will get it," said Senator Jeanne Shaheen (R-New Hampshire) earlier this week.

More progressive lawmakers, particularly in the House, have expressed concern about narrowing eligibility for the stimulus package or watering down the proposal in other ways.

Since the Senate has made significant changes to the income limits and has already removed the minimum wage increase that was in the House-passed bill, the Senate version must go through a re-vote in the House before heading to the White House for Biden's signature.

The Senate could begin consideration of the bill as early as Thursday (March 4) evening. Republicans are planning to prolong debate as long as possible. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has suggested that he may ask the Senate clerk to read all 600 pages of the bill on the Senate floor.

Despite this theatrics, Biden's bill enjoys broad support among American voters. In a weekend Monmouth poll, 62% of respondents supported the bill. In a Hill-Harris X poll last week, 58% of registered voters said Congress was too slow to move forward with the stimulus package.

Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress want the stimulus bill signed into law by March 14 to ensure that unemployment benefits to states are not cut off. If that deadline is met, the stimulus checks will begin arriving in bank accounts by the week of the 15th.