Old enough to drive a car? Then you would be old enough to receive $2,000 a month under a plan introduced this week by two Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives.
Under the Emergency Money for the People Act, US citizens who are 16 or older — and make less than $130,000 a year — would receive cash payments from the federal government for at least six months and until unemployment falls to pre-pandemic levels.
The bill was introduced Tuesday by Rep. Tim Ryan, a former presidential candidate associated with the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, and Rep. Ro Khanna, the former cochair of Sen. Bernie Sanders' recently suspended campaign for president. It has 17 other cosponsors, all Democrats, including Rep. Barbara Lee, who helps lead the House Steering and Policy Committee.
In addition to the $2,000 payments to adults, qualifying families would receive $500 a child, with the money deliverable via direct deposit, check, or mobile apps such as Venmo.
"As millions of Americans file for unemployment week over week, we have to work quickly to patch the dam — and that means putting cash in the hands of hard-working families," Ryan said in a press release.
—Congressman Tim Ryan (@RepTimRyan) April 14, 2020
The bill comes as the IRS is about to begin mailing out checks approved by the recent COVID-19 relief package. Those will come printed with President Donald Trump's name on them, it was revealed this week.
But critics like Khanna argue those checks are an inadequate response to the crisis, which has forced more than 22 million people to file for unemployment over the past four weeks alone.
"A one-time, $1,200 check isn't going to cut it," Khanna said. "Americans need sustained cash infusions for the duration of this crisis in order to come out on the other side alive, healthy, and ready to get back to work."
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