The senator’s previous proposal provided that beneficiaries would also receive up to an additional $2,000 per month for each child. Before Independent Senator Bernie Sanders insisted on a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks this month, the politician had already introduced a bill with now Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and Democratic Senator Ed Markey to provide $2,000 a month checks to Americans affected by the pandemic.
Last May, Senators announced the “Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act” that provides for minimum $2,000 monthly checks for Americans who generate $120,000 or less annually. Recipients would be eligible for the monthly incentive with payments phased out. Couples could receive up to $4,000 per month, while families with children would receive up to an additional $2,000 per month for each child. However, the maximum number of applicable dependents would be three.
“As a result of this horrible pandemic, tens of millions of Americans are living in economic desperation not knowing where their next meal or paycheck will come from. Sanders told the press when he introduced the legislation earlier that month along with his colleagues in the Senate.
“A single $1,200 check that many Americans recently received is not close enough to pay the rent, put food on the table and make ends meet. During this unprecedented crisis, Congress has a responsibility to ensure that every working class household in America receives $2,000 per month in emergency pay for each family member. I am proud to introduce legislation with Senators Harris and Markey to do just that. If we can bail out the big corporations, we can make sure that every single person in this country has enough income to pay for the basic necessities of life,” Sanders said.
However, the piece of legislation did not pass the Senate sieve, among other things, because of the large outlay of money involved.
Checks for $2,000 a month: a huge investment
An analysis by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimated the investment required to implement the provisions of the “Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act” at $5.7 billion.
ITEP’s assessment calculated that the average household would receive up to $35,180 over a 10 month period.
Spending bill amendment to include stimulus check
Last week, Sanders and Republican Josh Hawley introduced an amendment to the spending bill being considered by Congress to include provisions that would make it possible to distribute a new stimulus check. With the appeal, Sanders lowers the initial amount for stimulus checks he was pushing in an attempt to gain support for a second round.
The next deadline for approving funding to keep federal government agencies open is this coming December 18. Congressmen hope to tie the new stimulus plan to that funding bill.
By that date, the picture would be clearer in terms of additional incentives for the millions of Americans affected by the pandemic.
Other details of the “Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act
1. U.S. residents, whether or not they filed taxes or have a Social Security number, would be eligible.
2. The program would use information from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income, Medicare, and others to make sure as many people as possible get paid.
3. The information the government will use to send the money will be the 2019 or 2018 tax return. If the person did not file that information, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will use “any information provided to federal or state agencies.
4. As in the first round of payment of the stimulus check approved by Congress, recipients would receive the incentive via direct deposit or by mail if they do not have a bank account, although the measure mentions that other online payment systems could be used.
5. The payments would be retroactive to at least March of next year, the same month the national emergency was declared.
6. The bill provides that payments would end “in the third month beginning after the date the Secretary of Health and Human Resources determines that the public health emergency related to COVID-19 has ended.