If the United States House of Representatives gives final approval to President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 stimulus, billions of dollars could be headed to New Jersey.
The American Rescue Plan is a $1.9 trillion spending package that funds everything from vaccines, to mass transit, to local aid that could be used for property tax relief.
“All in all, the American Rescue Plan means New Jersey can get moving forward again,” said Gov. Phil Murphy.
In addition to funding vaccination and contact tracing efforts nationwide, the bill will bring relief to New Jersey's restaurant industry, send $400 million to help people pay rent in the state, and bring millions more in Medicare repayments to hospitals.
State government will receive over $6 billion, and nearly $3 billion more will be doled out among every single one of New Jersey's 565 municipalities and 21 counties.
But what many New Jersey residents want to know is if they will get be getting a $1,400 stimulus check, and if so, when it will arrive.
“There is no way to underscore the importance of that $1,400 for countless working and middle class families that will help remove the fiscal stress that so many are living under,” Murphy said.
Those who are making less than $75,000 per year will be eligible for the full $1,400. Couples making up to $150,000 filing jointly can get up to $2,800. Both groups can get another $1,400 per child.
The House must have one last vote on the package on Tuesday. It is expected to pass, and Biden says that he wants to sign it into law by Thursday.
The first direct deposit payments, going to those whose bank account information is on file with the IRS, could start within three days. Checks mailed out would take a little longer.
Republicans have objected that the stimulus spends on items that may not seem directly connected to the pandemic, from $20 million to fight wildlife trafficking nationwide, to $1.5 billion to fund the replacement of New Jersey's Portal North Bridge.
Sen. Bob Menendez’s office says that the exact amount of funding each town and county in New Jersey would receive is still being calculated.