White House officials and House Democrats said Friday they’re no closer to a deal with on a stimulus package, a week after extended unemployment benefits expired.

While the White House said they believe a compromise can be made on some issues, the two sides remain far apart on funding state and local governments. Many states and municipalities are struggling due to decreased revenues and increased costs amid the pandemic.

There is also disagreement among the parties, including Senate Republicans, on unemployment supplements as unemployment figures remain over 10%. From April into July, unemployed workers received an additional $600 unemployment supplement on top of standard unemployment benefits. But many Republicans grumbled that the supplement gave incentive for workers to stay home amid the pandemic.

Generally, however, if an employer calls an employee back to work, they're no longer eligible for unemployment benefits.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters on Capitol Hill Friday that he is going to recommend executive orders addressing student loan payments, evictions and unemployment supplements. Currently, federal student loan payments are frozen into October. Also, protection ended last week on evictions.

President Donald Trump told reporters late Friday that he plans on signing the order "by the end of the week." But Trump said he expects there will be legal challenges to his order.

Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said that there is broad agreement on some issues, such as funding for schools to safely operate amid the pandemic. Previously, the sides also said there is agreement on providing Americans with $1,200 stimulus checks for the second time this year. But Mnuchin and Meadows pointed the finger at House Democrats for not compromising on the unresolved issues.

“Just to hear the comments from Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi saying they “want a deal” when behind closed doors, their actions do not indicate the same thing,” Meadows said.

Meanwhile, Democrats pointed the finger back at the White House for not reaching a compromise.

While the White House suggested that it would be okay with a partial stimulus package, Democrats are calling for a more comprehensive bill.

“We’re asking them to be fair, to meet us in the middle, not to have a my way or the highway attitude, which they seem to have,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “We can really get this done, because there are some areas where we didn’t come to an agreement on many things, but we narrowed our differences.”

Both the House and Senate have adjourned for the weekend.

President Donald Trump on Friday said that he is ready to sign an executive order that will offer unemployment supplements, eviction protection, and a payroll tax holiday through the end of the year. Trump said the order could "by the end of the week," and that he has lawyers currently drawing up the order.

The executive order comes as Congress has stalled on negotiations with the White House on another round of stimulus funds. It also remains questionable how some of his edicts will be funded without Congressional authorization.

"You always get sued," Trump said, dismissing concerns that the orders are not legal.

His announcement comes as unemployment remained above 10% in July for the fourth straight month.

Trump did not specify how much the unemployment supplement would be for, but it would be retroactive to the beginning of the month. Previously, a $600 a week supplement for unemployed workers expired on July 31.

Trump announced that his executive order will continue a freeze on federal student loan payments until further notice.

He also said he will continue a moratorium on evictions through the end of the year. And his executive order would implement a payroll tax holiday through Dec. 31.

WASHINGTON —

President Donald Trump’s sudden demand for $2,000 checks for most Americans was swiftly rejected by House Republicans as his haphazard actions have thrown a massive COVID-19 relief and government funding bill into chaos.

The rare Christmas Eve session of the House lasted just minutes, with help for millions of Americans awaiting Trump's signature on the bill. Unemployment benefits, eviction protections and other emergency aid, including smaller $600 checks, are at risk. Trump’s refusal of the $900 billion package, which is linked to $1.4 trillion government funds bill, could spark a federal shutdown at midnight Monday.

“We’re not going to let the government shut down, nor are we going to let the American people down,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the majority leader.

The optics appear terrible for Republicans, and the outgoing president, as the nation suffers through the worst holiday season many can remember. Families are isolated under COVID precautions and millions of American households are devastated without adequate income, food or shelter. The virus death toll of 327,000-plus is rising.

Trump is ending his presidency much the way he started it — sowing confusion and reversing promises all while contesting the election and courting a federal shutdown over demands his own party in Congress will not meet.

The congressional Republican leaders have been left almost speechless by Trump’s year-end scorching of their work.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy helped negotiate the year-end deal, a prized bipartisan compromise, that won sweeping approval this week in the House and Senate after the White House assured GOP leaders that Trump supported it.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin boasted that the $600 checks all sides had agreed to for Americans would be in the mail in a week.

Instead, Washington is now hurtling toward a crisis with COVID aid about to collapse, as the president is at his Mar-a-Lago club. He has been lashing out at GOP leaders for refusing to join his efforts to overturn the election that Joe Biden won when the Electoral College votes are tallied in Congress on Jan. 6.

"The best way out of this is for the president to sign the bill,” Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri said Thursday. “And I still hope that’s what he decides.”

Racing to salvage the year-end legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mnuchin are in talks on options.

Democrats will recall House lawmakers to Washington for a vote Monday on Trump’s proposal, with a roll call that would put all members on record as supporting or rejecting the $2,000 checks. They are also considering a Monday vote on a stop-gap measure to at least avert a federal shutdown. It would keep the government running until Biden is inaugurated Jan. 20. Lawmakers will also be asked to override Trump's veto of a must-pass Defense bill.

After presiding over the short House session, an exasperated Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., decried the possibility that the COVID assistance may collapse.

“It is Christmas Eve, but it is not a silent night. All is not calm. For too many, nothing is bright," she said on Capitol Hill.

A town hall she hosted the night before "had people crying, people terrified of what is going to happen,” she said. One father recently told her he had to tell his children there would be no Santa Claus this year.

The president’s push to increase direct payments for most Americans from $600 to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for couples drives support from Democrats but splits the GOP with a politically difficult test of their loyalty to the president.

Republican lawmakers traditionally balk at the big spending, never fully embracing Trump’s populist approach. Many have opposed larger $2,000 checks as too costly and poorly targeted.

On a conference call Wednesday House Republican lawmakers complained that Trump threw them under the bus, according to one Republican on the private call and granted anonymity to discuss it. Most had voted for the package and they urged GOP leaders to hit the cable news shows to explain its benefits, the person said.

Yet the president has found common ground with Democrats, particularly leading liberals who support the $2,000 payments as the best way to help struggling Americans. Democrats only settled for the lower number to compromise with Republicans.

Even if the House is able to approve Trump's $2,000 checks on Monday, that measure would likely die in the GOP-controlled Senate, which is due back in session on Tuesday.

The president's unpredictable demands are creating more Trump-related headaches for Georgia GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who are fighting for their political lives — and for continued GOP control of the Senate — in a pair of Jan. 5 Georgia run-off elections. They are being forced to choose whether to back or buck Trump, potentially angering voters on all sides.

The clash Thursday unfolded as the Democratic-controlled House convened for a routine pro forma session, which had been scheduled before Trump’s sudden moves, when lawmakers anticipated no business being conducted.

Instead, the 12-minute House session morphed into a procedural brawl as Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, sought the unanimous approval of all House members to pass the bill with Trump’s proposal. GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, who was not present in the nearly-empty chamber, refused.

House Republicans then tried, and failed, to win unanimous approval of their own proposal to revisit routine foreign aid funding, which Trump had cited as one of his key objections to the overall spending package.

The year-end package Trump railed against as a “disgrace” is the product of months of work. It would establish a temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefit, along with a new round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses, restaurants and theaters and money for schools. Money is included for health care providers and to help with COVID vaccine distribution. Trump took aim at foreign aid funds in the package he has agreed to in the past and asked for in his yearly budget.

The final text of the more than 5,000-page bill required days to be compiled but Pelosi announced Thursday that it was completed and being sent to the White House for Trump’s signature.

The year-end timing complicates the schedule ahead. Even if Trump doesn't formally veto the package, he could allow it to expire with a “pocket veto” at the end of the congressional session.

The Senate cleared the huge relief package Monday by a 92-6 vote after the House approved it by 359-53. Those votes totals would be enough to override a veto should Trump decide to take that step.

Video above: Financial planner examines best use of COVID-19 stimulus checks

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said some of the $600 payments might be sent by direct deposit to Americans' bank accounts as early as Tuesday night continuing into the next week.

Mnuchin tweeted that paper checks will begin to go out Wednesday.

"@USTreasury has delivered a payment file to the @FederalReserve for Americans’ Economic Impact Payments. These payments may begin to arrive in some accounts by direct deposit as early as tonight and will continue into next week," Mnuchin said in the tweet.

He added that paper checks will begin to be mailed as soon as Wednesday.

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Americans earning up to $75,000 qualify for the direct $600 payments, which are phased out at higher income levels, and there's an additional $600 payment per dependent child.

The stimulus checks come as President Donald Trump has advocated for a larger $2,000 stimulus for individuals, which passed through the House Monday night.

Pressure is mounting on the Republican-led Senate to follow the House, which voted overwhelmingly on Monday to meet the president's demand to increase the checks from $600 as the virus crisis worsens.

Biden supports the $2,000 checks and said Tuesday the aid package is merely a “down payment” on what he plans to deliver once in office.

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Economists said a $600 check will help, but that it’s a far cry from the spending power that a $2,000 check would provide for the economy.

“It will make a big difference whether it’s $600 versus $2,000,” said Ryan Sweet, an economist with Moody’s.

CNN and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

As some Americans begin receiving up to $600 in stimulus checks, the possibility of more direct payments is in limbo in the Senate Wednesday.

After the House on Monday night approved a standalone measure to increase direct payments from up to $600 per individual to $2,000, it then went to the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked efforts Tuesday for a fast-tracked vote on the measure. In response, Senator Bernie Sanders blocked a planned vote to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a national defense bill until there is a vote on the direct payments.

Later in the day, McConnell suggested tying together votes on two bills later in the week; one on the House-passed bill to increase larger direct payments and one on a measure that would allow the $2,000 payments only if a commission to study election fraud is established and parts of Section 230 are repealed.

In signing the $900 billion COVID relief package along with the larger government funding bill on Sunday night, President Trump said he wanted larger direct payments, as well as an investigation into unfounded claims of election fraud. Earlier this month he vetoed the national defense bill because it did not make changes to Section 230, which provides protections for internet platforms and technology companies.

On Tuesday morning, McConnell had said the Senate would start the process to address those priorities from the president.

Many Democrats oppose connecting the issues together, and would likely vote against the broader measure, according to the Washington Post.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi held her weekly press conference Wednesday morning, and called on McConnell to allow a vote on the increased payments. When asked if she would take up the measure again next week after new members of Congress are sworn in, she repeated her hope for getting it done this year.

“Let’s be hopeful it happens this week. The sooner it happens the sooner they go out," Pelosi said, referring to the $2,000 stimulus checks.

The Senate is scheduled to be back in session Wednesday afternoon. It’s unclear whether there will be any movement or discussion about the larger direct payments or any plans for a vote at this time.

If the larger direct payment amount is approved, the Treasury Department would send Americans the difference.

Thousands of Americans were accidentally sent mail from the IRS saying they wouldn't be receiving a stimulus check.

In a Q&A response on the agency's website, IRS officials said those letters were sent to people whose 2019 tax returns could not be processed in time to issue last year's initial $1,200 stimulus payment.

IRS officials say the notice was intended to notify people whose stimulus checks could not be issued by Dec. 31, 2020, the deadline required by law. Anyone who was eligible for stimulus payments but did not receive them can claim a recovery rebate credit on their 2020 tax return.

In some cases, however, the agency said letters included the following false information: "We applied a credit to your 2007 tax account due to new legislation. We used (offset) all or part of your economic stimulus payment to pay your federal tax as the law allows."

"This notice is not accurate for anyone who received it," the IRS website says. "Since no payment was issued, no offsets occurred. We apologize for the confusion this may have caused. You can disregard the notice."

For those who owe federal debts, the IRS said the first stimulus checks were offset only when individuals owed past-due child support. The second stimulus payments were ot offset for federal or state tax debts for any reason.

For more information about claiming the recovery rebate credit on your 2020 taxes to receive stimulus payments, click here.

WASHINGTON — Congress is moving forward with President Joe Biden's America Rescue Plan, which will include another round of unemployment benefits and stimulus checks.

While final details are unclear, with the bill only in the beginning stages of being drafted, $1,400 checks will almost certainly be included.

But just because you got a check last time doesn't mean you'll receive a check when this legislation is passed.

HISTORY OF CHECKS

The first stimulus check was worth $1,200.

The second stimulus check was worth $600.

Each time, if you earned $75,000 per year or less ($150,000 for couples filing jointly), the IRS deposited the full amount in your bank account.

But that number may change.

A number of senators are pushing for a lower income limit, with full checks only going to Americans earning around $50,000 a year or less.

During his speech at the White House Friday, Biden spoke of individuals making $30,000 or $50,000. An important detail because he didn't include the amount of $75,000.

WHY REDUCE IT?

"Most people, tallying up all Americans, are earning around $50,000," Kyle Pomerleau, a fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, said.

Pomerleau's research indicates around 88% of households would still receive some form of stimulus checks if the threshold is lowered.

New economic data has also indicated that Americans making less than $50,000 a year have suffered the most during this pandemic.

"One thing lawmakers need to think about is the cost," Pomerleau said.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The issue will likely divide Democratic senators over the coming weeks.

Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, has indicated a desire for more targeted relief for lower income earners.

Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is pushing for similar thresholds to be used this time that were used last time.

President Joe Biden gave his first network interview since his inauguration on Friday, covering a wide array of topics with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell.

During an excerpt of the interview released by CBS on Friday, Biden covered the future of his proposed economic stimulus bill and whether former President Donald Trump should hold a security clearance.

Biden told O’Donnell that he believes that his proposed increase to the federal minimum wage will likely not be included in the final stimulus bill. Biden cited Senate rules that limit the type of bills that can be passed using the budget reconciliation process. Using budget reconciliation allows the stimulus package to be passed by a simple majority in the Senate instead of 60 out of 100.

“Well, apparently, that's not going to occur because of the rules of the United States Senate,” Biden told O’Donnell. “I don't think it's going to survive."

But Biden says he remains committed to passing a minimum wage increase down the road in a standalone vote.

As Congress continues debate on Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus package, there are still questions on who exactly will get the $1,400 checks Biden has pitched for most Americans. While originally, it appeared individuals making less than $75,000 per year would get the checks, Biden says he is open to negotiate. Some in Congress have suggested lowering the threshold to $50,000 annually.

What Biden told O’Donnell was that a decision needs to be made soon.

“I am prepared to negotiate on that, but here is the deal, middle class folks need help,” Biden said. “But you don’t need to give any help to someone making $300,000 or ($250,000).”

On the topic on whether Trump, like all former presidents, should continue receiving intelligence briefings, Biden said, “I think not.”

“Because of his erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection,” Biden added.

When asked what his worst fear is if Trump continues to receive intelligence briefings, Biden responded, “I would rather not speculate out loud. I just think there is not a need for him to have an intelligence briefing.”

The full interview with Biden will air before the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Justin Boggs is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @jjboggs or on Facebook.

The House approved a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill early Saturday in a win for President Joe Biden, even as top Democrats tried assuring agitated progressives that they’d revive their derailed drive to boost the minimum wage.

The new president’s vision for flushing cash to individuals, businesses, states and cities battered by COVID-19 passed on a near party-line 219-212 vote. That ships the massive measure to the Senate, where Democrats seem bent on resuscitating their minimum wage push and fights could erupt over state aid and other issues.

Democrats said the still-faltering economy and the half-million American lives lost demanded quick, decisive action. GOP lawmakers, they said, were out of step with a public that polling shows largely views the bill favorably.

The relief bill would provide millions of people with $1,400 direct payments. It contains billions of dollars for vaccines and COVID-19 testing, schools, state and local governments, the ailing restaurant and airline industries and emergency jobless benefits while providing tax breaks to lower earners and families with children.

The House COVID-19 bill includes the minimum wage increase, so the real battle over its fate will occur when the Senate debates its version over the next two weeks.

“I am a happy camper tonight," Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said Friday. “This is what America needs. Republicans, you ought to be a part of this. But if you're not, we're going without you."

It's Biden’s first crack at his initial legislative goal of acting decisively against the pandemic. In the year since the coronavirus has taken hold, it has stalled much of the economy, killed half a million Americans and reshaped the daily lives of virtually everyone.

Republicans said the bill was too expensive and said too few education dollars would be spent quickly to immediately reopen schools. They said it was laden with gifts to Democratic constituencies like labor unions and funneled money to Democratic-run states they suggested didn't need it because their budgets had bounced back.

“To my colleagues who say this bill is bold, I say it's bloated," said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. “To those who say it's urgent, I say it's unfocused. To those who say it's popular, I say it is entirely partisan.”

Republicans have also said it’s not targeted enough at the people and businesses that most need it and a grab bag of gifts for Democratic allies.

The House bill would also hoist the federal minimum wage to $15 hourly by 2025, more than doubling the current $7.25 floor that's been in effect since 2019.

But that proposal seemed highly likely to die in the Senate after that chamber's parliamentarian said Thursday that the cherished progressive goal must be dropped from the relief legislation, Senate Democratic aides said.

The finding by Elizabeth MacDonough, the chamber’s nonpartisan arbiter of its rules, means Democrats face an overwhelmingly uphill battle to boost the minimum wage this year in the face of solid Republican opposition.

Biden, a supporter of the $15 increase, was “disappointed” in the outcome but respected the parliamentarian's ruling, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. The Senate has a long tradition of heeding the parliamentarian's decisions with few exceptions, a history that is revered by traditionalists like Biden, a 36-year Senate veteran.

“He will work with leaders in Congress to determine the best path forward because no one in this country should work full time and live in poverty,” Psaki said.

Democrats are pushing the massive coronavirus relief measure through Congress under special rules that will let them avoid a Senate filibuster by Republicans, a tactic that Democrats would need an unattainable 60 votes to defeat.

But those same Senate rules prohibit provisions with only an “incidental” impact on the federal budget because they are chiefly driven by other policy purposes. MacDonough said the minimum wage provision didn’t pass that test, according to aides who described her decision on condition of anonymity because it hadn’t been released.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the minimum wage plan would remain in that chamber's legislation anyway, saying, “House Democrats believe that the minimum wage hike is necessary.”

She probably had little choice — many House Democrats are progressives who are insistent that the party fight for the wage boost. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., a leading sponsor of the minimum wage increase, said Democats shouldn't be bowed by “the advisory opinion of the parliamentarian and Republican obstructionism.”

Democrats can afford little dissension over the minimum wage or anything else in the COVID-19 relief bill. They have no votes to spare in the 50-50 Senate.

Democrats are aiming to get the legislation to Biden’s desk by mid-March.

Republicans oppose the $15 minimum wage target as an expense that would hurt businesses and cost jobs.

MacDonough's decision might actually make passage of the overall relief bill easier because efforts to find a minimum wage compromise between progressives and moderate Democrats who'd prefer a more measured approach could have been contentious.

Democrats have said they could still pursue a minimum wage boost in free-standing legislation or attach it to legislation expected later this year that is to be aimed at a massive infrastructure program. But they’d still face the challenge of garnering 60 Senate votes, a hurdle that has upended Democratic attempts to boost the minimum wage for over a decade.

In a study that’s been cited by both sides in the clash, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the $15 minimum wage would increase pay for 27 million workers and lift 900,000 people out of poverty by 2025, but also kill 1.4 million jobs.

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have state minimum wages that exceed the federal $7.25 hourly floor, with only the District of Columbia currently requiring a $15 minimum.

Seven states have laws putting their minimums on a pathway to $15 in a future year, according to the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures.

WASHINGTON —

Bleary-eyed lawmakers worked through a mountain of amendments Saturday before the Senate passed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that President Joe Biden and Democrats say is crucial for hoisting the country out of the pandemic.

The Senate commenced a dreaded “vote-a-thon” — a continuous series of votes on amendments — shortly before midnight Friday, and by midmorning Saturday had dispensed with over two dozen.

The Senate's 50-49 vote for final passage midday Saturday means the modestly revamped bill can be sent back to the House, and then to Biden this coming week for his signature.

The Senate had been in session since 9 a.m. EST Friday. Its work on the bill proved to be a test of both lawmakers' physical stamina and Democrats' ability to pass legislation backed by every senator in the party. The chamber is divided 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris' tiebreaking vote their only edge, and Republicans were arrayed against the legislation.

Overnight, the Senate was like an experiment in the best techniques for staying awake. Several lawmakers appeared to rest their eyes or doze at their desks, often burying their faces in their hands. At one point, Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, at 48 one of the younger senators, trotted into the chamber and did a prolonged stretch.

The huge package — its total spending is nearly one-tenth the size of the entire U.S. economy — is Biden's biggest early priority. It stands as his formula for addressing the deadly virus and a limping economy, twin crises that have afflicted the country for a year.

The bill includes direct payments of up to $1,400 for most Americans, extended emergency unemployment benefits, and lots of spending for COVID-19 vaccines and testing, states and cities, schools and ailing industries, along with tax breaks to help lower-earning people, families with children and consumers buying health insurance.

But the measure was delayed repeatedly as Democrats struck deals and made eleventh-hour changes aimed at balancing demands by their competing moderate and progressive factions.

The lengthy standoffs underscored the headaches confronting party leaders over the next two years — and tensions within the party — as they try moving their agenda through the Congress with their slender majorities.

The measure followed five earlier ones totaling about $4 trillion that Congress enacted since last spring and comes amid signs of a potential turnaround. Vaccine supplies are growing, deaths and caseloads have eased but remain frighteningly high, and hiring was surprisingly strong last month, though the economy remains 10 million jobs smaller than its pre-pandemic levels.

“Without a rescue plan, these gains are going to slow,” Biden said Friday. “We can’t afford one step forward and two steps backwards. We need to beat the virus, provide essential relief, and build an inclusive recovery.”

But Republicans opposed the bill as a wasteful gift to Democrats' liberal allies that ignores indications of improvement.

“Democrats inherited a tide that was already turning," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Work on the bill ground to a halt Friday after a deal among Democrats on extending emergency jobless benefits seemed to collapse. But nearly 12 hours later, top Democrats and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, perhaps the chamber's most conservative Democrat, said they had a deal and the Senate approved it on a party-line 50-49 vote.

Under their compromise, $300 weekly emergency unemployment checks — on top of regular state benefits — will be renewed, with a final payment made Oct. 6. There will also be tax breaks on some of those payments, helping people the pandemic abruptly tossed out of jobs and risked tax penalties on the benefits.

The House's COVID-19 relief bill, largely similar to the Senate measure, provided $400 weekly benefits through August. The current $300 per week payments expire March 14, and Democrats want to have the bill on Biden's desk by then to avert a lapse.

Manchin and Republicans have asserted that higher jobless benefits discourage people from returning to work, a rationale most Democrats and many economists reject.

Manchin is a kingmaker in the 50-50 Senate, but Democrats cannot tilt too far center to win his vote without endangering progressive support in the House, where they have a mere 10-vote edge.

That agreement wasn't the only move that helped cement support from party moderates.

The Senate voted on Friday to eject a House-approved boost in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, a major defeat for progressives. Eight Democrats opposed the increase, suggesting that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and other progressives vowing to continue the effort in coming months will face a difficult fight.

In one of many late deals, party leaders restricted eligibility for the $1,400 stimulus checks that will go to most Americans. That amount would be gradually reduced until, under the Senate bill, it reaches zero for people earning $80,000 and couples making $160,000. Those amounts were higher in the House version.

Most of the overnight and morning amendments were by Republicans and were defeated. Many amendments were either attempts to force Democrats to cast politically awkward votes or for Republicans to demonstrate their zeal for issues that appeal to GOP voters.

These included defeated efforts to bar the bill's education funds from going to schools closed for the pandemic that don't reopen their doors, or from schools that let transgender students born male to participate in female sports. One amendment would have blocked aid to so-called sanctuary cities, where local authorities balk at helping federal officials round up immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

Friday's gridlock over unemployment benefits gridlock wasn't the first delay on the relief package. On Thursday Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., forced the chamber's clerks to read aloud the entire 628-page relief bill, an exhausting task that took staffers 10 hours and 44 minutes and ended shortly after 2 a.m. EST Friday.

Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

Some Americans are already seeing the latest round of stimulus payments hit their bank accounts, as the first batch of funds is rolled out.

The payments — worth up to $1,400 per person — were included in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package signed by President Joe Biden this week.

The White House on Thursday had announced that payments would go out as soon as this weekend for those who have their direct deposit information on hand at Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service.

Processing of the first batch of stimulus payments began on Friday and more will roll out in the "coming weeks," an official with the Treasury Department told reporters on a Friday call.

While direct deposits will go out first, paper checks and prepaid debit cards will be sent out before the end of the month.

People can check the status of their payments using the IRS' Get My Payment tool online.

Meanwhile, Chase and Wells Fargo said eligible customers will start receiving payments on March 17, according to reports.

No action is required for most people to receive the money. Social Security recipients and those who receive Veteran Affairs benefits should also receive the money automatically even if they don't file taxes.

Who gets a payment and how much?

The full $1,400 amount goes to individuals earning less than $75,000 of adjusted gross income, heads of households (like single parents) earning less than $112,500 and married couples earning less than $150,000.

The payments gradually phase out as income goes up, and lawmakers narrowed the scope for this third round of payments so that not everyone who received a previous check will be sent one now.

It cuts off at individuals who earn at least $80,000 a year of adjusted gross income, heads of households who earn at least $120,000 and married couples who earn at least $160,000 — regardless of how many children they have.

But unlike prior rounds, families will now receive additional money for adult dependents over the age of 17. Families will receive an additional $1,400 per dependent, so a couple with two children could receive up to $5,600.

The new income thresholds are based on a taxpayer's most recent return.

The money is expected to reach about 90% of families, according to an estimate from the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

As many Americans began receiving stimulus checks on Friday, the IRS said it will launch a "Get My Payment" tool on the IRS website starting Monday.

Although the first batch of payments went out on Friday, the IRS said it could take weeks for some to receive their payment.

“Even though the tax season is in full swing, IRS employees again worked around the clock to quickly deliver help to millions of Americans struggling to cope with this historic pandemic,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “The payments will be delivered automatically to taxpayers even as the IRS continues delivering regular tax refunds. We urge people to visit IRS.gov for the latest details on the stimulus payments, other new tax law provisions and tax season updates.”

Americans making up to $75,000 a year will get a direct payment of $1,400 (couples making up to $150,000 a year will get $2,800). Heads of households making up to $112,500 annually also will receive the full $1,400.

Those making $75,000 to $80,000 ($150,000 to $160,000 for couples) will get a prorated check. Those making over $80,000 ($160,000 for couples) will not receive a check.

Those who filed 2019 or 2020 taxes, receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits (SSDI), Railroad Retirement benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Veterans Affairs benefit, or received a previous stimulus check will be automatically included in this round of stimulus if they meet income requirements.

The IRS says that for those who received the first two stimulus checks but didn't receive a payment via direct deposit, they will generally receive a check or, in some instances, a prepaid debit card (referred to as an “EIP Card). A payment will not be added to an existing EIP card mailed for the first or second round of stimulus payments.

The new $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed into law on Thursday will help millions of Americans and businesses immediately as it issues more loans and stimulus checks.

But economists warn while the new stimulus will help boost the economy, it will not have as strong of an effect on the unemployment rate.

“We are in a jobs hole that’s on the order of 12 million jobs,” said Heidi Sheirholz, a labor economist with the Economic Policy Institute. “It’s just enormous.”

Although the current unemployment number of 10.1 million is well below its April 2020 high of 23.1 million, it is still nearly twice as high as pre-pandemic levels of 5.7 million according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

That is not taking into account the 2.5 million jobs that the BLS estimated would have been created in 2020.

“This [stimulus] will help so many people,” said Sheirholz. “It’s just a groundbreaking package, [but] it takes more time to have a business get formed, built, and to hire people so [lowering unemployment] is not going to happen overnight.”

Stephanie Dudley is one of those people relying on the American Rescue Plan. A mother of two that lives in Los Angeles, she has been unemployed since the pandemic first hit.

She says looking for work has been difficult and she has relied on unemployment as a way to make ends meet.

“I think, overall, [the process of getting employment] has been sluggish,” she said.

In its most recent report, the Congressional Budget Office said the U.S. economy would reach its pre-pandemic output by this summer, which is faster than expected, but the CBO says unemployment will not reach its pre-pandemic level until 2024, which Sheirholz says is a reason for concern.

“We know things will be improving by September [when the unemployment provisions are set to expire], but we are still going to have a big jobs hole by September 6,” said Sheirholz. “There won’t be enough jobs to go around by then.”

CNN —

As welcome as the American Rescue Plan is for many people, the fact that it was signed into law in the middle of tax filing season raises a number of questions.

That's because some provisions may affect how you should prepare your 2020 tax return, including calculating the size of your refund. And nearly 56 million people have already filed as of March 5.

Here's what we know so far.

Tax free unemployment benefits

The main provision in the latest Covid relief package that affects 2020 taxable income applies to those who received unemployment compensation last year.

The American Rescue Plan retroactively excludes the first $10,200 in benefits from federal income tax for households with incomes below $150,000 a year.

That change will either decrease how much you owe the IRS or increase your refund, with the latter being most likely.

At H&R Block, for instance, "90% of our clients who are filing with unemployment compensation are getting a refund," said Kathy Pickering, the firm's chief tax officer.

Your federal refund may grow larger not only because the initial $10,200 in benefits is now tax free. The provision will reduce your adjusted gross income and taxable income, and that may make you newly eligible for some tax credits that require your income to be below a certain threshold, Pickering said.

The provision may also affect your state income tax return, too, if you live in a state with an income tax. That's because states will often base their computation of taxable income using either your federal adjusted gross income or taxable income.

"Your starting point will be reduced by the [unemployment compensation] exclusion," Pickering said.

The IRS has issued this guidance sheet to explain how the change should be calculated and reported on your 2020 tax return. And it has said it also will provide an update for tax preparation software providers that will let filers incorporate the unemployment compensation change into their 2020 calculations.

For those who have already filed their 2020 tax returns, sit tight. "They should not file an amended return at this time, until the IRS issues additional guidance," the agency said.

Economic impact payments

The American Rescue Plan authorizes a third round of economic impact payments to go to households making below $160,000 ($80,000 for single filers). The payments are worth up to $1,400 per tax filer and for each of a filer's dependents -- whether those dependents are children or adults.

While the payments won't affect your 2020 taxes directly, they may affect how quickly or slowly you'll want to file your 2020 return if you haven't already.

Here's why: If the IRS doesn't already have your 2020 return on file, it will base the size of the payment it sends to you on your 2019 income. So, for example, if your 2019 income was too high to qualify, but you believe your 2020 income makes you eligible, you'll need to file your tax return in order to receive your payment.

"You may want to file your 2020 return as quickly and accurately as you can to ensure you've done everything you can to get the most accurate payment," Pickering said.

That said, if you can't file quickly and expect you'll be owed more money, you'll eventually get all the money that is due to you. When you file your 2020 return, the agency will automatically review your account to see if you're eligible for additional funds and, if so, it will send you a supplemental payment.

To ensure the fastest payment, Treasury and IRS officials are urging people to file electronically and choose direct deposit for payment.

Conversely, if your 2019 income would make you eligible for a larger economic impact payment than your 2020 income, you might want to hold off filing your 2020 return for a bit.

"If the taxpayer received more than that to which he or she is ultimately entitled, it does not have to be repaid," said Mark Luscombe, Principal Federal Tax Analyst at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting.

The only exception, Luscombe said, would be if you were in a category of people who are not allowed to receive a stimulus payment in the first place, such as a nonresident alien, anyone who is claimed as a dependent on another person's tax return or someone who has died.

INDIANAPOLIS —

An Indianapolis man suspected of killing three adults and a child told police he fatally shot the four victims after he and his girlfriend argued because he wanted a share of her federal COVID-19 relief money, according to a court document and one of the girlfriend's relatives.

Malik Halfacre, 25, was being held Tuesday at the Marion County Jail on four preliminary counts of murder and one count each of attempted murder and robbery. He has not yet been formally charged in Saturday's shootings, which police have said occurred following a heated argument in a home where officers found the bodies of Anthony Johnson, 35, Dequan Moore, 23, Tomeeka Brown, 44, and 7-year-old Eve Moore. Halfacre's girlfriend was critically wounded.

A probable cause affidavit filed Monday in Marion County Superior Court reveals more details about the argument. It says that Halfacre told officers following his arrest Sunday evening that he and his girlfriend — identified only as "J.M." — "were arguing because he wanted some of her stimulus check."

"Mr. Halfacre admitted to shooting all of the deceased individuals in the house. He also said that after everyone was shot, he took the money, J.M.'s purse, and her car and left the scene," with his 6-month-old daughter, according to the affidavit.

The baby was later found unharmed at the home of Halfacre's sister, according to the affidavit.

Wendy Johnson, a cousin of Halfacre's girlfriend, told WXIN-TV that the day before the shootings Halfacre demanded half of his girlfriend's $1,400 pandemic stimulus check, but her cousin refused.

"She had just got her money, and he wanted half of her money," she told the station, citing what her cousin had said after the encounter. "She said, 'No, you don't deserve any of this. I work. I take care of our child. You don't do anything.'"

Johnson said her cousin had offered Halfacre $450 of her stimulus check but that he replied, "I'm gonna get that money."

Halfacre's sister told officers that when her brother came to her home and dropped off the baby, he also "admitted to killing four people and told her details about how it happened," the affidavit states.

Officers later found Halfacre in the attic of a friend's home about 4.5 miles from the shooting scene, police said.

The Marion County Prosecutor's Office is still investigating and does not expect to make a charging decision before Thursday, according to spokeswoman Destiny Burgos.

Many families will soon begin receiving monthly payments from the IRS as part of the credit that was included in the American Rescue Plan.Some have already received a rather confusing letter about the program. Here's what parents should understand about the program:When Democrats in Congress passed the most recent stimulus package in March, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, it included an expansion of the Child Tax Credit this year. Instead of $2,000, the credit grows to $3,000 per child for those age 6 through 17 and $3,600 for children under age 6. The law also calls for the IRS to send families monthly advance payments for half the amount you're owed starting in July and running through the end of the year.So if you're owed $3,000, you'll get $250 a month for 6 months and will collect the other $1,500 when you file taxes.In order to qualify, the family must have filed either a 2019 or 2020 tax return. Qualification for the payments is based on the reported income and begins to phase out starting at $75,000 for single filers or $150,000 for a couple. Congress also made the child tax credit this year fully refundable, which means you can collect it even if you don't owe any money in taxes.

A census scam is taking advantage of the public’s confusion regarding the stimulus payments that were sent out by the government to aid Americans during the coronavirus crisis.

The

Better Business Bureau

says the goal of the scammers is to get their hands on your personal information, which they’ll use to steal your identity.

“The 2020 United States Census is happening at the same time as a global pandemic, shelter-in-place orders, and government stimulus payments,” wrote the BBB. “With so much going on at once, scammers are using the unique circumstances to create confusion.”

Here’s how the scam works:

The BBB says victims receive an unsolicited message via text, email or on social media that explains that in order to qualify for your stimulus payment, you need to first complete the 2020 U.S. Census. Whether or not you’ve completed the real census, don’t click. It’s a scam.

Some versions of the phony message include a link to a website “for more information,” according to the BBB. If you click the link, officials say you could unknowingly download malware onto your computer or phone that can give scammers access to your usernames, passwords, and other personal information stored on your computer.

“In other cases, the link may take you to a website that looks like it was created by the official U.S. Census Bureau,” wrote the BBB. “However, the website is a fake.”

On that website, you’ll be asked for personal information, such as your Social Security number and bank account information. Don’t fill that out. The U.S. Census Bureau does not ask for this information.

The BBB offers these tips on avoiding census scams:

· Know how the U.S. Census Bureau communicates. The U.S. Census Bureau will only send you emails if you already signed up for them, and it will never ask you to send personal information in an email. In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau will never contact you on behalf of a political party.
· Only visit official websites. Valid U.S. government websites almost always end in “.gov”. You can find key information about the 2020 census at

2020census.gov

and information about economic stimulus payments at

irs.gov/coronavirus.

· Never click on links in unsolicited messages. Phishing scams direct you to websites that look official, but these sites may be infected with malware. If you don’t know and trust the person who sent you the message, don’t click on any links.