Biden Open To Means Testing For Already Watered Down $1,400 Stimulus Checks President Biden told House Democrats on Wednesday that he vows not to "break his promise" to deliver $1,400 stimulus checks - though he's open to a means test to set 'tighter income limits' on who can receive them. Biden's sign-on to means testing increases the chances that Senate Democrats will bypass pass Republicans - passing their own stimulus bill via budget reconciliation, as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) - who was seen as a key swing vote, may sign on due to the targeted relief. "I am not going to start by breaking a promise to the American people," said Biden - who notably broke his promise that $2,000 checks would go out 'immediately' if he's elected - which Democrats have spun as $1,400 added to the $600 relief under Trump, which equals $2,000. You understand that they're going to run this video of https://twitter.com/JoeBiden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); promising "$2000 stimulus check, that money that will go out the door immediately to help people who are in real trouble" endlessly, don't you https://twitter.com/TheDemocrats?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");? pic.twitter.com/qgn95qMh4j — Matthew Cortland, Esq 🖋️ (@mattbc) https://twitter.com/mattbc/status/1355726402612588545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); The US government handing out '$2000' stimulus checks... pic.twitter.com/doVWPPzt09 — Alan MacLeod (@AlanRMacLeod) https://twitter.com/AlanRMacLeod/status/1356916157001965569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Biden also told House Democrats that the idea of going from his $1.9 trillion proposal to the GOP's $618 billion proposal is "not even in the cards." The GOP counterproposal includes $1,000 checks sent to far fewer Americans. "We’ve got a lot of people hurting in our country," said Biden, adding "We need to act fast." On Wednesday, Manchin told MSNBC that he "strongly" opposes using reconciliation to pass Biden's $1.9 trillion plan. On Tuesday, voted to begin debate on a 2021 budget resolution, but noted that he "will only support proposals that will get us through and end the pain of this pandemic." Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), meanwhile, said that Janet Yellen warned Democrat lawmakers in a call that the GOP's plan for a smaller deal risked repeating the mistake in 2009, however Bloomberg notes that "The one thing that may put a fly in the ointment for the Biden administration is the speed at which the economy is already picking up, as signs of returning growth could reduce support for a large package." Tyler Durden Wed, 02/03/2021 - 10:42