Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) along with Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) proposed a bill that will significantly expand on the $1,200 stimulus payments Americans received.
According to The Root, the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act will provide a check of $2,000 a month for people who earn less than $100,000 (individual); $150,000 (head of household). Married couples who file jointly would and make less than $200,000 would receive $4,000. Married couples filing jointly would also receive an additional $2,000 for each child up to three children.
Harris told Politico the first round of coronavirus response payments weren’t “nearly enough to meet the needs of this historic crisis.”
Markey called the bill “the most direct and efficient mechanism for delivering economic relief to those most vulnerable.”
“Congress has a responsibility to make sure that every working-class household in America receives a $2,000 emergency payment a month for each family member,” said Sanders, Politico reported.
The payments would be retroactive to March and would last until three months after the Department of Health and Human Services declared the pandemic over.
The bill has a long way to go, most Republican lawmakers have spoken out against monthly payments. The bill would also give payments to undocumented immigrants who do not have a Social Security number but pay taxes.
For Harris and Sanders, this is the first significant bill they’ve worked on. Harris did support Sanders’ Medicare-For-All bill in 2017, but she backed off during the 2020 Democratic primaries, releasing her own plan, which included private insurance.
The coronavirus has decimated the job market and put more than 26 million Americans out of work. Additionally, the Paycheck Protection Program has been riddled with issues from applying and receiving funds to funds not going to minority and women business owners.
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