On March 9, the Biden administration’s first stimulus package was formally approved. This federal relief package provided continued unemployment benefits, money to local and state governments to combat COVID-19 and aid in vaccinations and gave citizens a third round of stimulus checks. This relief bill was the first to make stimulus checks available to young adults and people over the age of 17 who were claimed as dependents on their parents’ 2019 or 2020 federal taxes. This is good news for a lot of college students, but it can be hard to understand the relief package and find out where your stimulus check is headed. Here’s some highlights of the bill, according to the official Congress website, and a brief explanation as to where your stimulus check is.
$1,400 stimulus checks
Dependents above the age of 17 who missed out on the last two stimulus checks are now qualified for the $1,400 stimulus check this round. However, for those who were claimed as a dependent, the $1,400 was added in with the parents’ or legal guardian’s stimulus check. There are a few tricks to this system; while many people are qualifying as dependents because of their 2019 taxes, if your 2020 taxes were filed as an independent and they were officially processed, you may receive your own stimulus check. Similarly, if your parents did not claim you as a dependent on their already processed 2020 taxes, you may be eligible for your own stimulus check. While many people have already begun to receive their checks, if you haven’t received yours and believe you are eligible, you can check out the official payment tracker on the IRS website.
Money provided to state governments to fight COVID-19
In total, nearly $48 billion were allocated for states to fund testing, research and diagnostic measurements regarding COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 infections. This amount of money will be provided to states for use until it runs out. The goal of these funds is to establish stronger plans to contact infected citizens, as well as contact tracing for those who were exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19. In addition to the $48 billion allocated for testing, $7.5 billion were granted for vaccination sites to help give more vaccinations to more of the population.
Continued support for those who are unemployed
The boost to federal unemployment programs would continue part way through September. The unemployment boost is an addition of $300 to weekly payments, which was proposed and passed late last year. This weekly boost was proposed to continue throughout most of 2021 and was passed in this relief package.
Money allocated for healthcare workers mental health resources
$80 million was granted to provide training and relief to healthcare workers who may be struggling with additional stress due to their increased work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of this funding is to focus especially on underserved and overworked communities and community healthcare workers who may be struggling.
