On The Money: New batch of stimulus payments to hit accounts Wednesday | Biden eyes $3T infrastructure package | Senate confirms Walsh as Labor secretary

Happy Monday and welcome back to On The Money, where we’re thankful that a Krispy Kreme just opened up down the block. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

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THE BIG DEAL—IRS says more stimulus payments to hit bank accounts Wednesday: The IRS said Monday that another batch of direct payments authorized by President Biden’s stimulus bill should begin hitting bank accounts Wednesday with mailed checks and prepaid cards soon to follow.

• The agency said it began processing more stimulus payments to eligible households Friday, meaning those funds will likely be accessible for recipients Wednesday. 
• Households will also begin receiving payments via mailed checks and prepaid debit cards.
• The agency, however, did not say when recipients of Social Security retirement or disability payments, railroad pensions and veterans benefits would receive their latest stimulus payments. The IRS said that it is working with other federal agencies to get updated 2021 income information for recipients.

I have more information here.

The IRS has already disbursed 90 million direct payments to households after President Biden signed a $1.9 trillion relief bill on March 11 amid a major push to implement the legislation. The IRS has extended the tax filing season by a month, but that decision didn’t resolve every challenge taxpayers and the agency are facing.

• The IRS needs to establish a program in which it makes advance payments of the child tax credit on a periodic basis starting in July under Biden’s relief law.
• The IRS also still needs to issue guidance providing clarity about relief programs for businesses created by previous rounds of legislation, such as the employee retention tax credit and the Paycheck Protection Program.

The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda tells us more about what’s on the IRS’ plate here.

The background: After a decade of budget cuts, the IRS has been hindered by funding shortages and a depleted staff. While those shortfalls are particularly hard for the agency to deal with in busy times like these, it also takes away from the IRS’s ability to accomplish its core functions.

The top 1 percent of households in terms of income fail to report an astonishing 21 percent of their income to the IRS, according to a new paper co-authored by IRS researchers and prominent academics in the National Bureau of Economic Research.

• In recent years, audit rates have declined, particularly for the rich, as IRS funding was scaled back. A Congressional Budget Office report from July found that audit rates dropped 46 percent from 2010 to 2018, and fell 61 percent for millionaires in the same time period.
• The latest findings, the National Bureau of Economic Research researchers argue, show that tax evasion bolsters inequality.

The Hill’s Niv Elis breaks them down here.

The political upshot: Democrats have pushed to boost IRS funding, particularly for audits, for years, but the issue is likely to get more urgency with President Biden expected to propose a series of tax hikes in a broader infrastructure spending package.

The Biden administration is preparing a massive spending proposal on infrastructure and other domestic priorities like child care and drug costs that could put fights over hot-button issues like climate change and taxes front and center.

A source familiar with the plans confirmed that administration officials are eyeing $3 trillion as the topline figure for its Build Back Better jobs and infrastructure proposal, though they cautioned talks are fluid and the final number could change.

The new package is expected to be split into two separate bills:

• The first would focus on infrastructure, with spending on manufacturing and climate change measures, broadband and 5G, and the nation’s roads and bridges.
• The other measure would include funds for pre-K programs, free community college tuition, child tax credits and health care subsidies, according to multiple reports.

“President Biden and his team are considering a range of potential options for how to invest in working families and reform our tax code so it rewards work, not wealth,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Monday. “Those conversations are ongoing, so any speculation about future economic proposals is premature and not a reflection of the White House’s thinking.”

The Hill’s Brett Samuels has more here.

Senate confirms Marty Walsh as Biden’s Labor secretary: The Senate on Monday confirmed Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to lead President Biden’s Labor Department — the final Cabinet official who can be confirmed, for now.

Senators voted 68-29 on Walsh’s nomination, after he easily cleared a procedural hurdle late last week. 

Walsh’s confirmation comes amid a health pandemic that has put the safety of front-line workers under a spotlight, a topic he touched on during his hearing.

“We are depending on working men and women all across this country to keep us going — as they always have done. They are depending on us. I believe we must act with urgency to meet this moment to strengthen and empower our workforce as we rebuild,” he said.

The Hill’s Jordain Carney has more here.

ON TAP TOMORROW:

• The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on the impact of international tax policy on the U.S. workforce at 10 a.m.
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testify before the House Financial Services Committee on the federal response to the coronavirus recession at 12 p.m.
• Fed Governor Lael Brainard gives a speech on climate change at the Ceres Conference at 1:25 p.m.
• A House Judiciary subcommittee holds a hearing on the bankruptcy code at 2:30 p.m.
• Brainard gives a speech on monetary policy and the outlook for the economy at the National Association for Business Economics Annual Economic Policy Conference at 3:45 p.m.

GOOD TO KNOW

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Monday that it would be increasing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, also known as food stamps, by 15 percent through funds from the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.
• Top travel industry groups on Monday called on the Biden administration to develop a roadmap by May 1 to prepare for reopening international travel this summer.
• Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton has been named chairman of the board of directors at Apollo Global Management, the company announced on Monday.

ODDS AND ENDS

• Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s first post on the social media platform was sold as a nonfungible token for $2,915,835.47 on Monday after a two-week open bid.
• President Biden on Monday announced his intention to nominate influential antitrust scholar Lina Khan to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).