Kamala Harris may very well be the next vice president of America and she’s starting her silent bid to win the nomination off by winning the heart of Bernie Bros far and wide.
On Friday, Sen. Harris (D-Calif.) along with Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass) “will release their Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act. It would dramatically expand upon the $1,200 sent to Americans as part of March’s gargantuan coronavirus response bill,” Politico reports.
Please God, let this be a thing. Let this be all the things. Politico notes that if approved, the bill would allow for people who make less than $120,000 to get a check for $2,000. Married couples who file jointly would get $4,000 and would allow an additional $2,000 for each child up to three children. Harris told Politico that the one-time stimulus payment wasn’t “nearly enough to meet the needs of this historic crisis” and Markey called the push “the most direct and efficient mechanism for delivering economic relief to those most vulnerable.”
“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,” Sanders said, Politico reports.
From Politico:
The payments would be retroactive to March and last until three months after the Health and Human Services Department has declared the public health emergency over. The legislation would also bar debt collectors from taking the payments, and would deliver them regardless of whether people have a Social Security number or filed taxes last year.
The effort from the two former presidential rivals and Markey represents one of the biggest, and likely most expensive, ideas being put forward for the next round of coronavirus relief. Other House and Senate Democrats have proposed federal guarantees for workers’ salaries, and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is pitching having the government subsidize employers’ payrolls to avoid mass layoffs.
If this happens, I will start eating my Raisin Flakes (bootleg Raisin Bran) with cashew milk and will start making my ramen noodles with Evian because I deserve to eat what the rich eat, too. We all do.