Marking a year of loss and disruption, President Joe Biden signed into law a $1.9 trillion relief package that he says will help the U.S. defeat the virus and nurse the economy back to health.
Some Americans are already seeing the latest round of stimulus payments hit their bank accounts, as the first batch of funds is rolled out.
The payments — worth up to $1,400 per person — were included in the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package signed by President Joe Biden this week.
The White House on Thursday had announced that payments would go out as soon as this weekend for those who have their direct deposit information on hand at Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. Processing of the first batch of stimulus payments began on Friday and more will roll out in the "coming weeks," an official with the Treasury Department told reporters on a Friday call.
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By Saturday morning, several people had posted on social media about seeing their stimulus payments pending in their bank accounts.
"Stimulus hit my account thanks biden," Andrew Palmer, an IT consultant in Washington, DC, tweeted Saturday morning. Palmer told CNN that he'll use the $1,400 he'll receive to pay off debt.
Missouri resident Jarrel "JoJo" Royal told CNN that he also has the stimulus payment pending in his account. He started his job as a hotel assistant general manager on March 1 after being out of work since May 2020.
"My mom passed away in June from lung cancer, so part of the money is for a family trip this summer with my siblings and part of the money will pay some medical bills," he told CNN.
While direct deposits have gone out first, paper checks and prepaid debit cards will be sent out before the end of the month.
Starting Monday, people can check the status of their payments using the IRS' Get My Payment tool online.
No action is required for most people to receive the money. Social Security recipients and those who receive Veteran Affairs benefits should also receive the money automatically even if they don't file taxes.
Who gets a payment and how much?
The full $1,400 amount goes to individuals earning less than $75,000 of adjusted gross income, heads of households (like single parents) earning less than $112,500 and married couples earning less than $150,000.
The payments gradually phase out as income goes up, and lawmakers narrowed the scope for this third round of payments so that not everyone who received a previous check will be sent one now.
Americans will start seeing the next round of stimulus payments hit their bank accounts as early as this weekend, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said March 11.
It cuts off at individuals who earn at least $80,000 a year of adjusted gross income, heads of households who earn at least $120,000 and married couples who earn at least $160,000 — regardless of how many children they have.
But unlike prior rounds, families will now receive additional money for adult dependents over the age of 17. Families will receive an additional $1,400 per dependent, so a couple with two children could receive up to $5,600.
The new income thresholds are based on a taxpayer's most recent return.
The money is expected to reach about 90% of families, according to an estimate from the Penn Wharton Budget Model.
RELATED: 50 days in, where Biden stands on key promises
50 days in, where Biden stands on key promises
Completed goals
Promises kept so far:
Coronavirus pandemic
Biden prioritized addressing the coronavirus pandemic during his first weeks in office, and the focus has paid off. He’s on pace to hit his goal of 100 million vaccine doses administered in his first 100 days as soon as the end of next week. The daily rate of vaccinations now averages more than 2 million shots, and more than 75 million doses have been administered since Biden was sworn in.
Climate policy
Biden also took took several early actions that fulfilled pledges on climate policy. He signed an executive order on Inauguration Day that revoked the permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, halted development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and ordered the review of Trump-era rules on the environment, public health and science. A Jan. 27 executive order halted new oil and gas leases on federal lands and offshore waters.
Rolling back Trump's policies
Biden also easily delivered on top campaign pledges that involved rolling back Trump administration moves on everything from climate change to immigration. Early on, the Biden administration rejoined the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accord, halted construction of the border wall, ended travel restrictions on people from a variety of Muslim-majority countries and created a task force to reunite families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Immigration
On immigration, Biden pledged to deliver a comprehensive reform bill to Congress within his first 100 days, and it was unveiled last month, although Biden already has signaled an openness to a piece-by-piece approach if necessary. Biden also issued an executive order directing the Homeland Security secretary to “preserve and fortify” protections for young immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents.
Ethical standards
Biden also made some early moves to deliver on a pledge to tighten ethical standards in his administration, including a Jan. 20 executive order imposing an ethics pledge on appointees governing activities such as lobbying and taking gifts, which included prohibiting political interference in the Justice Department.
In progress
Still other Biden promises remain a work in progress. They are:
100 vaccination centers
Biden’s national COVID-19 strategy pledged to establish 100 new, federally supported vaccination centers across the nation by the end of February. So far, the administration is at about 20 mass vaccination sites run end-to-end by the federal government and staffed by active-duty troops deployed by the Pentagon. Overall, the administration says, at least 441 vaccination sites are now federally supported. Many of those were not new sites, but nearly all have expanded capacity with the additional federal resources.
Immigration pledges under review
On immigration, Biden pledged to reverse the “public charge” rule put in place by the Trump administration to discourage immigrants from using public benefits, to streamline the naturalization process and to reform the U.S. asylum system within his first 100 days. An executive order he signed in early February directs the relevant agencies to review those policies and recommend changes within 60 days.
The administration has made some moves to reform the asylum system, including a move by the Department of Homeland Security on Biden’s first day in office to suspend a Trump-era program requiring asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims were under review. But Biden has yet to articulate a plan to manage asylum flows beyond proposing that billions of dollars be spent to address root causes in Central America.
The president has also kept in place pandemic-related powers that allow his administration to immediately expel people at the border without an opportunity to seek asylum. Biden aides have said they have no immediate plans to end the authority, which Trump introduced a year ago using an obscure 1944 public health law.
Migrant detention centers
Biden also promised to end the long-term detention of migrant families. Immigration and Customs Enforcement signaled last week it plans to discontinue the use of one such facility, but ICE will continue to hold families for three days or less at two other facilities in Texas. And the Biden administration is expanding capacity at a number of long-term facilities that hold immigrant children, to address an ongoing surge of unaccompanied minors at the border.
Host climate world summit
On climate change, Biden pledged to establish enforceable commitments from other nations to reduce emissions in global shipping and aviation and to convene a climate world summit to discuss new and more ambitious pledges to address climate change, within his first 100 days. The U.S. will hold such a summit on April 22, Earth Day.
Reopening schools
Reopening America’s schools is one of Biden’s major campaign promises that’s proven tougher to execute, in part because the decision on whether to return to in-person learning is left up to local officials and teachers’ unions. After some back-and-forth over the details of his goal, Biden said last month that his 100-day mission was to have most elementary schools open five days a week for in-person learning.
This month he directed states to prioritize vaccinating teachers and announced he was directing federal resources toward vaccinating teachers in March. The Biden administration hopes that with the passage of the coronavirus relief bill and distribution of millions in aid for schools to improve safety measures, teachers will feel more comfortable returning to in-person learning.
According to Burbio, which tracks school reopening plans, about 47% of kindergarten through 12th grade students have access to in-person school every weekday.
Awaiting action
These Biden promises have not yet been addressed:
Criminal justice reform
The Biden administration has yet to take significant action on criminal justice reform, aside from an executive order terminating private prison contracts. Biden pledged to set up a police oversight board within his first 100 days, but there's been no clear movement in that direction so far.
Union support
Still awaiting action is Biden's promise to create a Cabinet-level working group focused on promoting union participation.
Gun purchase background checks
Biden's promise to order an FBI review of issues with gun purchase background checks is still awaiting action.
Waiting on congressional action
Some of Biden’s 100-day pledges will require congressional action, like his promise to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and increase taxes on corporations. Biden also promised to make passage of the Equality Act, which bars discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity, a priority in his first 100 days. That bill has passed the House but not the Senate.
Waiting on Cabinet confirmations
And some of his promises are waiting on Biden’s Cabinet secretaries to be confirmed by the Senate. On gun control, Biden has said he would direct his attorney general to deliver recommendations to restructure key Justice Department agencies to more effectively enforce the nation’s gun laws. He also pledged to have his secretary of Housing and Urban Development lead a task force to create recommendations for making housing a right for all Americans.
Both his attorney general nominee, Merrick Garland, and his nominee to lead the Housing Department, Rep. Marcia Fudge, are expected to win confirmation this week.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
CNN's David Williams contributed to this report.
