["If we can bail out large corporations, we can make sure that
everyone in this country has enough income to pay for the basic
necessities of life."] [[link removed]]

HARRIS, SANDERS, AND MARKEY BILL WOULD PROVIDE $2K/MONTH FOR REST OF
COVID-19 CRISIS   [[link removed]]

 

Jake Johnson
May 8, 2020
Common Dreams
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
* [[link removed]]

_ "If we can bail out large corporations, we can make sure that
everyone in this country has enough income to pay for the basic
necessities of life." _

People pick up food at the New York City mobile food pantry on the
Barclays Center plaza on April 24, 2020 in Brooklyn, Angela Weiss/AFP
via Getty Images

 

Sens. Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, and Ed Markey introduced
legislation Friday that would provide most U.S. households with $2,000
monthly payments per person for the duration of the Covid-19 crisis, a
proposal that comes as Democratic
[[link removed]] and Republican
[[link removed]] leaders
continue to resist sending additional cash directly to people even as
corporations get trillions in no-strings-attached
[[link removed]] bailout
funds.

"During this unprecedented crisis, 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
(I-Vt.). "If we can bail out large corporations, we can make sure that
everyone in this country has enough income to pay for the basic
necessities of life."

"Providing recurring monthly payments is the most direct and efficient
mechanism for delivering economic relief to those most vulnerable in
this crisis, particularly low-income families, immigrant communities,
and our gig and service workers."
—Sen. Ed Markey

The bill, titled the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act
[[link removed]] (pdf),
would send $2,000 in direct payments to adults who earn less than
$120,000 a year. The bill would send $4,000 per month to married
couples who file taxes jointly and an additional $2,000 for children
and dependents up to three.

Payments would be retroactive back to March and continue until three
months after the Health and Human Services secretary declares that the
Covid-19 public health emergency has ended. The bill explicitly bars
debt collectors from seizing the rebates and "ensures the homeless and
foster youth receive payments," according to a one-page summary
[[link removed]] (pdf)
released by Harris' office.

Millions of Americans don't know how they're going to pay for
groceries, rent, utilities, or medicine.

Our legislation with @SenKamalaHarris
[[link removed]] and
@SenMarkey [[link removed]]
provides every working family with $2,000 a month, per person, until
this crisis is over: [link removed] [[link removed]]

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 8, 2020
[[link removed]]

"Providing recurring monthly payments is the most direct and efficient
mechanism for delivering economic relief to those most vulnerable in
this crisis, particularly low-income families, immigrant communities,
and our gig and service workers," Markey (D-Mass.) said in a
statement.

The trio of senators unveiled their proposal in the wake of Labor
Department figures showing that a record 20.5 million people lost
their jobs in April and the U.S. unemployment rate soared to 14.7%,
the highest level since the Great Depression.

Harris said the new legislation is an attempt to remedy congressional
failure to do "nearly enough to meet the needs of this historic
crisis."

The CARES Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law
[[link removed]] in
late March, authorized one-time $1,200 cash payments to most U.S.
households, excluding
[[link removed]] millions
of immigrants and their spouses, dependent college students,
and others
[[link removed]].

"The one-time $1,200 check that many Americans recently received is
not nearly enough to pay the rent, put food on the table, and make
ends meet," said Sanders.

It's not clear whether the new proposal will gain any traction in
ongoing talks over the next coronavirus stimulus package, despite
the popularity
[[link removed]] of
recurring cash payments among U.S. voters. Trump
[[link removed]] and
Republican members of Congress have signaled opposition to any
additional direct payments.

"Alongside other important programs, cash payments give families an
income floor so that no American is one missed paycheck away from
living on the street."
—Natalie Foster, Economic Security Project

"Well people in hell want ice water too," Sen. John Kennedy
(R-La.) said
[[link removed]] when
asked about calls for another round of stimulus checks.

As _HuffPost_ reported
[[link removed]] Thursday,
Democratic leaders in Congress have also hesitated to embrace more
cash payments even while promising a "Rooseveltian" coronavirus aid
package
[[link removed]].

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said last week that Congress
needs to figure out the best way to distribute money, musing that
'perhaps' a 'guaranteed income' for people would be worth
considering," _HuffPost_ reported. "But a spokesperson for Pelosi
said she had in mind something more like the Paycheck Guarantee Act
from Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), which would grant money to
employers to pay wages and prevent layoffs—not pay people directly."

In a statement endorsing the proposal from Harris, Sanders, and
Markey, Economic Security Project co-chair Natalie Foster said that
"as Congress considers the next relief package, $2000 monthly payments
must be part of the equation."

"Alongside other important programs, cash payments give families an
income floor so that no American is one missed paycheck away from
living on the street," said Foster.

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
* [[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web [[link removed]]
Submit via email
Frequently asked questions [[link removed]]
Manage subscription [[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org [[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]