Stimulus checks could start hitting bank accounts this weekend, White House says

Federal stimulus checks are prepared for printing at the Philadelphia Financial Center.

Jeff Fusco | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Some Americans will receive new coronavirus stimulus checks as soon as this weekend, the White House said Thursday.

The news from White House press secretary Jen Psaki came minutes after President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill.

"People can expect to start seeing direct deposits hit their bank accounts as early as this weekend," Psaki said at a press briefing.

"This is, of course, just the first wave," Psaki noted, adding that "payments to eligible Americans will continue throughout the course of the next several weeks."

Beyond the billions of dollars in funding for vaccinations, state and local governments and other areas, the plan will send direct payments of up to $1,400 to the majority of Americans.

It would also extend a $300 per week unemployment insurance boost until Sept. 6 and expand the child tax credit for a year.

Use Grow's relief calculator to see how much you could receive under the new law:

The massive bill, which most Americans support, passed through Congress without any backing from Republican lawmakers. The Democrat-led House and Senate pushed the bill through Congress via the budget reconciliation process, which allows legislation that impacts the budget to pass with a simple majority.

"This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country," Biden said before signing the legislation. "And giving people in this nation, working people, middle class folks, the people who built this country, a fighting chance."

Later Thursday, Biden in his first primetime address to the nation said that due to the plan's passage, his administration can accelerate its effort to reopen schools.

The president also offered a cautiously optimistic vision of the next steps in the fight against the pandemic.

"If we all do our part, this country will be vaccinated soon, our economy will be on the mend, our kids will be back in school, and we'll have proven once again that this country can do anything," Biden said in his address.

The speech came on Biden's 50th day as president and on the one-year anniversary of the pandemic.

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