WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department said Wednesday it has issued more than 156 million payments as part of President Joe Biden's coronavirus relief plan, including 25 million payments that were primarily to Social Security beneficiaries who hadn't filed 2019 or 2020 tax returns.
The direct payments of as much as $1,400 per person were the cornerstone promise of Biden's $1.9 trillion package to contain the pandemic and revive the U.S.
economy. Roughly $372 billion has been paid out since March 12, a sum that likely boosted hiring last month as Americans had more money to spend.
White House officials had previously estimated that 158.5 million households would receive the payments. Wednesday's batch of payments showed how the administration