Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, and some more progressive Democratic colleagues, have proposed legislation that will send out periodic stimulus checks. In other words, it would be a source of guaranteed income. The monthly stimulus amounts will be a maximum of $600 for every child and $1200 for every adult.
Omar’s Push For Another Stimulus Check
On Friday, the congresswoman from Minnesota announced her proposal. The announcement was made via a post on Twitter as well as a statement for the press, where she called poverty a choice. The stimulus check bill was endorsed by New York’s Democratic Rep Jamaal Bowman, Illinois’ Marie Newman, and Pennsylvania’s Dwight Evans.
In the official statement regarding the stimulus check bill, Omar said that endless growth has been prioritized for far too long, even though millions are suffering from lack of healthcare, hunger, and homelessness. She said that the pandemic had exposed all these inequalities. She also stated that the US has the resources to ensure everyone’s basic needs like healthcare, housing, and food are met.
Omar then referred to pilot projects in various states across the nation which have successfully provided a guaranteed source of income. She argued that, thus, America must become a leader in safeguarding and measuring the economic well-being of the people.
The stimulus check program, if passed, would not, however, immediately start paying out the $1200 payments to a majority of the Americans. Instead, a grant program worth $2.5Bn will be created that will be used for funding pilot programs guaranteeing income throughout the nation. The programs will then be analyzed between 2023 and 2027. After that, the nationwide program will start in 2028.
After that, the legislation will pay a monthly amount of $1,200 to citizens whose AGIs are below $75,000. All minor children would get $600. All household heads whose AGIs are below $112,500 will be getting $1,200 as well.
