White House: Americans could see stimulus checks as early as this weekend

Americans are likely to see stimulus checks from the newly signed American Rescue Act sooner than expected.

According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Americans with direct deposit can expect to see relief checks in their bank accounts as early as this weekend.

The checks initially were thought to arrive at the end of the month.

President Joe Biden signed the bill quicker than expected on Thursday afternoon.

In addition to the checks, the bill provides $300 per week unemployment to September, establishes an enhanced child tax credit that would provide families with up to $3,600 per child, hands out $350 billion in state aid, $14 billion to distribute vaccines, and $34 billion in Affordable Care Act subsidies.

The amount of the stimulus checks varies as the $1,400 will be gradually reduced based on income. Those making greater than $80,000 as an individual or $160,000 as a couple would not receive a check.

According to Colin Young of the Statehouse News Service, it is projected that “Massachusetts state government and municipalities would receive more than $8.1 billion in direct government aid, including $4.513 billion for the state, $3.415 for city, county and other local government aid, and $174 million in capital project funding. The state could also be in line for more than $1 billion in transit assistance and $2.68 billion in total education aid, according to the Senate estimates. And that’s on top of other stimulus spending that would flow to schools, businesses, testing and vaccination programs, the unemployed and more than $7.3 billion in direct checks to more than 3.1 million families in Massachusetts.”