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Third stimulus check: what's the last step after relief bill passed by Senate?

A $1.9tn coronavirus relief bill including a third round of stimulus checks was approved by the US Senate on Saturday.

(FILES) In this file photo US President Joe Biden speaks on the passage of the American Rescue Plan in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2021. - US President Joe Biden on March 7, 2021 signed an executive order aimed
SAUL LOEBAFP

After the US Senate on Saturday passed President Biden's coronavirus relief bill, which includes a third stimulus check, the House of Representatives now has to approve the changes that were made to the legislation before it got through the upper chamber.

The bill must then be signed into law by Biden.

Revised version of $1.9tn stimulus bill passes Senate on Saturday

Having passed the House in its original form at the end of February, the $1.9tn relief bill was approved in a 50-49 Senate vote after the support of all 50 Democratic senators was secured - a process that required concessions to be made on certain provisions in the bill.

Eligibility for third stimulus check tightened, unemployment benefits boost reduced

Amid opposition from some more moderate Democrats over the cost of sending out a stimulus check to as many Americans as in the two previous rounds of direct payments, eligibility for the scheme was narrowed in the version of the bill passed by the Senate.

Although the income eligibility cap for the full stimulus check of $1,400 was kept at $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for joint filers, it was agreed that the final phase-out limit of $100,000/$200,000 in the original bill would be reduced to $80,000/$160,000.

According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, this change to the eligibility rules means around 17 million fewer Americans will receive a stimulus check.

Led by West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, centrist Senate Democrats also secured a reduction in the stimulus bill’s proposed $400 weekly unemployment-benefits supplement, which will now be $300. What's more, it will now end on 6 September, rather than lasting until the end of that month.

No minimum-wage increase in relief bill

Meanwhile, a national minimum-wage hike to $15 an hour was also stripped from the version of the bill that was sent from the House to the Senate.

This came after the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth Macdonough, ruled that the measure could not be passed under the rules of 'budgetary reconciliation', the process used by the Democrats to push the stimulus package through the Senate with a simple majority, rather than a filibuster-proof 60 votes.

House to vote on revised package on Tuesday, says Hoyer

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has said the lower chamber will now vote on the changes made to Biden’s stimulus package on Tuesday. As was the case in the Senate, it is anticipated that the revised legislation will pass the lower chamber along party lines.

President Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law soon after that.

Third stimulus check: live updates

You'll find updates on when Americans can expect to receive their third stimulus check in our dedicated live feed.