$600 Payments Coming To Most FL Residents Under Relief Agreement

Clearwater FL

21 December, 2020

3:53 PM

Description

FLORIDA – A new coronavirus relief package that includes a second round of stimulus checks has been agreed upon by bickering members of Congress, with a vote on the nearly $900 billion deal expected on Monday. For millions of Florida residents, it means direct cash payments. It also means expanded and extended federal unemployment benefits, a stay on evictions and help for business and schools. Here's what it could mean for you: Stimulus payments for most residents would be $600, half of what was sent out in the spring. The payments will go to adults who made less than $75,000 individually and less than $150,000 as a couple in 2019. Payments will decrease for people who made over $75,000 and won't be available for people who earned more than $99,000. Adults will also get $600 for each child they claim as a dependent. It's unknown when the money will come by, but the CARES Act payments came within two months for most Americans. Federal unemployment benefits will provide an extra $300 a week and extend coverage to those eligible for another 11 weeks, running through at least March 14. The benefits also extend to self-employed and gig workers who are drawing from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. Many federal benefits were set to expire the day after Christmas. The money is half of the $600 per week unemployed people got under the previous relief package. Pennsylvania has faced an unprecedented surge in unemployment throughout the pandemic. A federal moratorium on evictions would be extended through Jan. 31. The current moratorium was set to expire at the end of the year. Gov. Ron DeSantis allowed the state's eviction and foreclosure moratorium he issued in April to expire on Oct and left the one issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to take over "to avoid any confusion over whether the CDC's evictions order should apply in a particular circumstance" Democrats and other advocates had been pushing for DeSantis to extend the state's moratorium, the governor has allowed the federal version to serve as a placeholder instead. There would be more than $284 billion under the Paycheck Protection Program, which has been expanded to help a wider array of businesses. Schools would receive $82 billion for HVAC repairs in an effort to help get children and teachers back into school safely. There is no word on how much Florida schools might receive.What they're saying Sen. Rick Scott: "Something needs to get done, but it needs to be very targeted. We ought to help the people who have lost their jobs, help our small businesses, make sure we continue to build out our testing program and make sure we get this vaccine out…When they talk about $900 billion, that's a tax increase down the road, that's not money we have…so there's no free money here so whatever we end up doing, let's all remember, if we say we want to spend all this money, it's a $7,000 tax increase for every family in this country down the road." Sen. Marcus Rubio on Twitter Sunday: "By this time (Monday) another round of help for (small business) jobs including restaurants, live venues, and small chambers should finally be on the way." Rep. Stephanie Murphy to Politico on the way Congress put together a relief package months after it first passed the CARES act saying "frustrated to be part of an institution that is so dysfunctional that it doesn't even work until the last minute." Patch editor Deb Belt contributed reporting.