- Millions of Americans could use a new stimulus check, as a result of the ongoing economic pain associated with the coronavirus pandemic that’s ripped apart the country’s financial fabric for six months now and counting.
- Joe Biden’s newly chosen running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris, is in favor of an aggressive new coronavirus stimulus plan.
- She’s co-introduced a bill in the Senate that would give Americans a $2,000 monthly stimulus payment for the foreseeable future — as well as a huge $12,000 payout right away.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden finally announced on Tuesday that California Senator Kamala Harris is the running mate he’s chosen to defeat President Trump and Mike Pence in this fall’s election, and Wednesday afternoon will see Biden and Harris stage an event together for the first time as the 2020 Democratic ticket.
Since Tuesday’s announcement, Harris’s record as a Senator has begun to be scrutinized, but for the purposes of this post, we’ll focus on one aspect of her legislative record, in particular, as it relates to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Because a Biden win with Harris this fall could bring renewed focus and support to the idea of aggressive coronavirus stimulus relief, something that fell apart in Congress in recent days and which President Trump tried to salvage in a piecemeal fashion — though Americans won’t be getting a new stimulus check in the process.
Harris, meanwhile, is among a small handful of senators who’ve introduced a bill that represents probably the most aggressive legislative response yet to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic (albeit one that has zero chance of becoming law right now). It calls for giving most Americans a stimulus payment of $2,000/month indefinitely — through the end of the pandemic, and a little beyond it. What’s more, that payment would be retroactive to the start of the pandemic. Meaning, since it’s been around six months since the pandemic began in the US, we’d be looking at a $12,000 check to start with under the specifics of this plan ($2,000/month x 6).
Harris introduced this proposal, the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act, along with fellow Senators Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey. As we noted yesterday, its terms include funding payments of $2,000/month to individuals and $4,000/month to married couples, plus an extra $2,000 per child for as many as three children.
Likewise, anyone who earns less than $120,000 would be eligible.
Part of what’s been a stumbling block to the passage of new coronavirus relief is the fact that Democrats control the House of Representatives, while Republicans control both the White House and Senate. Likewise, there’s even a bit of a rift among Republicans when it comes to what an additional coronavirus stimulus response should look like. Some think enough has been done, while others want to open the money spigot back up.
Depending on how the pieces on the political gameboard are rearranged this fall, depending on a Biden-Harris win, we could be in for a massive new round of coronavirus stimulus in just a few months’ time.
