As Congress debates President Joe Biden’s request for $ 1.9 billion in funding for coronavirus relief – including a third incentive test at $ 1,400 – some Democratic lawmakers are pushing for an even bigger response: $ 2,000 monthly payments to the pandemic is history.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, and more than 50 other members of the House are appealing to the Biden government to support such a policy, according to a signed letter to Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sent. Signatories to the January 28 letter also include other prominent House members such as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
“One more check is not enough during this public health and economic crisis,” they wrote. “Many families cannot afford to wait eight months between payments. To really build better, families need stability and security through constant relief – they cannot show the mercy of Congress.”
A repeat stimulus test is a well-known proposal for Harris, who last year introduced a bill in the Senate that would provide $ 2,000 a month for every adult and child in the U.S. until the pandemic ends, although the attempt fails. to get.
Supporters of the idea note that financial hardship remains widespread in the US, ten months after COVID-19 effectively closed the economy. A new analysis by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal-minded tank, found that a third of adults struggle to pay their bills. Many of those who have been hurt are low-wage workers whose service work has been affected by the crisis, such as those who work in restaurant and retail jobs.
While the letter did not specify an amount for a recurring incentive payment, Rep. Omar tweeted on Thursday that she would like to pay $ 2,000 a month until the global health crisis ends. So far, the federal government’s response efforts have included two direct payments to most low- and middle-class families: a $ 1,200 check for eligible adults last year and a $ 600 check per person earlier this month.
The recurring payments should be aimed at ‘those who need it most and will spend it the fastest’, as well as ‘all immigrant workers, refugees and their families’, Omar wrote. Older dependents and people over the age of 16 who are claimed as dependents – and who are excluded from the first two stimulus checks – should also be included, she added.
“Economic suffering”
The latest emergency relief plan discussed in Congress will offer a third $ 1400 stimulus test to most U.S. households, with Wall Street analysts estimating that payments through the end of March.
In light of continued hardship and high unemployment rates, a bold stimulus plan is needed to alleviate the 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. a conference call with reporters Thursday.
“We know that there is still an enormous amount of economic suffering going on in our country,” Sperling said of the call made by Invest in America Action, a public investment group. “In the upper quartile, unemployment may be around 5%, but for the lower quartile it is more than 20%.”
For people in the bottom fifth of income earners, unemployment remains at a depression level, he added.
Asked about Omar’s request for recurring incentive payments, Sperling noted that Biden’s $ 1.9 billion proposal includes several recurring assistance programs, including $ 400 additional weekly unemployment benefits and an increase in tax credits to $ 3,600 per child under 6 years of age. There is discussion that such a child tax credit can be paid monthly, he added.
Some economists have argued that direct stimulus surveys are not as effective in promoting economic growth as other forms of assistance, such as unemployment benefits and food stamps, which are provided to people in need and are spent relatively quickly. The effectiveness of the second round of checks is mixed with lower-income households spend the money fast, while affluent households put the cash away, a recent study found.
Ongoing payments will provide stability to families struggling in the crisis, Omar wrote. “Recurring direct payments until the economy recovers will help ensure that people can meet their basic needs, offer racially equitable solutions and shorten the recession longer,” she said.