While Congress debates President Joe Biden’s request for $ 1.9 trillion in funding for coronavirus – including a third stimulus check pegged to $ 1,400 – some Democratic lawmakers are pushing for an even greater response: $ 2,000 monthly payments up to the pandemic is history.
Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and more than 50 other members of the House are urging the Biden government to support such a policy, according to a signed letter to Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. . Signatories to the Jan. 28 letter also include other prominent House progressives, such as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
“An extra check is not enough during this public health and economic crisis,” they wrote. “Many families can’t afford to wait eight months between payments. To really build better, families need stability and security through constant help – they can’t be at the mercy of Congressional gridlock.”
A recurring stimulus check is a well-known proposal for Harris, who last year introduced a bill in the Senate that would have fetched $ 2,000 a month for every adult and child in the US until the pandemic ended, though the effort failed to gain traction.
Supporters of the idea note that financial troubles remain widespread in the US 10 months after COVID-19 effectively shut down the economy. A new analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank, shows that one-third of adults struggle to pay their bills. Many of those who are in pain are low-paid workers whose service jobs have been hit by the crisis, such as those in restaurants and retail.
While the letter didn’t specify an amount for a recurring incentive payment, Rep. Omar on Thursday that she would like to see payments of $ 2,000 a month until the global health crisis is over. So far, the federal government’s response has included two direct payments to most low- and middle-class families: a check for $ 1,200 to eligible adults last spring and a check for $ 600 per person earlier this month.
Recurring payments should be directed to “those who need it the most and will spend the fastest,” as well as “all immigrant workers, refugees and their families,” Omar wrote. Older dependents and those over 16 who are claimed as dependents – and who were excluded from the first two stimulus checks – should also be included, she added.
“Economic suffering”
The latest contingency plan being debated in Congress would net most U.S. households a third $ 1,400 stimulus check, with Wall Street analysts estimating the payments could be approved by the end of March.
Given ongoing hardship and high unemployment rates, a bold stimulus plan is needed to both alleviate current suffering and plant the seeds for economic revival, said Gene Sperling, former director of the National Economic Council under President Clinton and President Obama, at a conference. call with reporters on Thursday.
“We know that there is still tremendous economic suffering in our country,” Sperling said during the call from Invest in America Action, a government investment advocacy group. “In the top quartile, the unemployment rate may be around 5%, but for the bottom quartile it is over 20%.”
For people in the bottom fifth of the income earners, unemployment remains at the “depression level,” he added.
When asked about Omar’s request for recurring incentive payments, Sperling noted that Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion proposal includes several recurring assistance programs, including $ 400 in additional weekly unemployment benefits and an increase in tax credits to $ 3,600 per child younger than 6 years. There is some debate that such a child discount can be paid monthly, he added.
Some economists have argued that direct stimulus packages are not as effective in stimulating economic growth as other forms of aid, such as unemployment benefits and food stamps, which are provided to those in need and spent relatively quickly. The effectiveness of the second round of monitoring is mixed, with lower income households spend the money quickly, while wealthier households stole the money, a recent study finds.
Continuous payments would provide stability to families struggling in the crisis, Omar wrote. “Recurring direct payments until the economy recovers will allow people to meet their basic needs, provide racially just solutions and shorten the duration of the recession,” she said.