With discussions about the next stimulus checks expected to start on Monday, Sen. Kamala Harris has made one last pitch for $2,000 monthly coronavirus stimulus checks. Previously, Harris, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act, which proposes $2,000 a month in direct payments, among other things.
“Together, with Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey, I’m proposing that we have not just that one-time check of $1,200,” Harris told MSNBC host Chris Hayes.
Kamala Harris believes Congress needs to give people below a certain income level $2,000 monthly stimulus checks to help them through this pandemic and crisis.
She said the package would help people and “sustain them through these months of crisis so at the end of it, they can get back up on their feet instead of falling deep, deep, deep into the crevices of this crisis.”
Harris also took on Republicans, saying they are “standing in the way of supporting” people who lost their jobs but intend to work and need the help of their government to get through the crisis.
The Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act promises $2,000 monthly coronavirus stimulus checks to anyone earning up to $120,000 per year. Married couples who file jointly would get up to $4,000. Residents could also claim $2,000 for each dependent up to three dependents.
The legislation, which would be retroactive to March 2020, promises payments to every U.S. resident, whether or not they file taxes or have a Social Security Number. These payments would carry on until three months after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is the not first time the call is being made for recurring monthly checks. Previously, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang proposed monthly payments of $1,000 for every American 18 and above. Yang is also a proponent of universal basic income.
Separately, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban also previously proposed giving direct payments of $1,000 every two weeks.
Will the next stimulus package include checks?
It will be interesting to see what finally gets approved when the discussions start on Monday. Monthly coronavirus stimulus checks probably won’t be part of the next stimulus package. The focus primarily has been on one-time checks only.
For instance, a $1,200 stimulus check under the CARES Act, which was passed in mid-March, was a one-time payment. Also the lavish $3 trillion HEROES Act passed by the Democrat-backed House in May proposed a one-time check.
However, a group of 156 top U.S. economists sent an open letter to Congress recently asking for recurring monthly checks. The economists, including Jason Furman, a former top economic advisor to President Barack Obama; Darrick Hamilton of the Kirwan Institute, and many more, urged Congress to approve automatic and ongoing payments.
