Biden Administration Has Sent More Than 150 Million Relief Checks

The Biden administration has distributed over 150 million stimulus checks as of Wednesday in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have sent out approximately 156 million payments to people, totaling roughly $372 billion, according to the Treasury Department.

The majority of these hottest payments went to Social Security recipients and beneficiaries, providing a cash infusion more than a year into the pandemic.

Throughout the transition, Biden aides said the president’s chief aims for his first 100 days in office included distributing relief checks, re-opening schools and heightening the pace of vaccinations. On Tuesday, the White House announced it had surpassed its objective of bringing 150 million shots to Americans because he took office. Originally, the White House had set a objective of delivering 100 million inoculations during the first 100 days.

This is the fourth block of relief checks that the federal government has sent since the president signed the American Rescue Plan, and this one includes 25 million payments for a total value of $36 billion.

The largest group of recipients in this batch is Social Security beneficiaries who did not file tax returns in 2019 or 2020; this includes people who get Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits. Other payments went to Americans on Supplemental Security Income and Railroad Retirement Board beneficiaries.

The IRS sent the tests weeks after the agency first started to process payments for other Americans, a delay which annoyed Democrats on Capitol Hill.

Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee have been urging the IRS to reevaluate the obligations, arguing they unnecessary delays hurt vulnerable Americans. The delay in payments for about 30 million Social Security beneficiaries stemmed from the Social Security Administration not sending the IRS an updated list of eligible people until March 25, according to House Democrats.

Nearly all individuals who get their payments — 25 million of them — will do so through direct deposit, whereas more than 1 million people will receive paper checks. The Treasury Department and IRS began to process the payments on Friday, April 2, for an official payment date of April 7.

Veterans Affairs beneficiaries are to receive their payments on April 14.

The IRS has an online tool for people to check the status of the payment.