<p>
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.)
<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/15/2000-means-2000-ocasio-cortez-says-1400-payments-biden-plan-fall-short-promised" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">expressed</a> disappointment that Biden's plan doesn't include $2,000 checks. Tlaib (D-Mich.) joined in, tweeting: "That $600 is already in the clutches of landlords and bill collectors. Stop compromising the working class, and our most vulnerable neighbors."
</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1350215757410537475" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1350215757410537475&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Fr%2Fentryeditor%2F2649960634%23&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 269px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet">
</iframe>
</div><p>
Tlaib also promoted two bills she introduced last session: the Automatic BOOST to Communities (ABC) and the Building Our Opportunities to Survive and Thrive (BOOST) acts. The former would provide $2,000 per month to eligible individuals during the Covid-19 crisis, then $1,000 monthly payments for the next year.
</p><p>
As a <em>Forbes</em> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanguina/2020/04/22/stimulus-proposal-2000-payment-plus-1000-per-month-until-1-year-after-crisis-ends/?sh=67dc136a6fa5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report</a> about the ABC Act, shared on Friday by Tlaib, detailed:
</p><blockquote>
The payments would be made via direct deposit if the [U.S.] Treasury has the individual's banking information on file, unless the individual would prefer to have their payment made on an Interim BOOST Card (BOOST Card).<br/>
The BOOST Card would be a prepaid debit card that would not be subject to any fees, penalty charges, or usage restrictions. The full amount would be available for immediate withdrawal at any ATM in the country without any usage or withdrawal fees. Individuals who do not have banking information would receive their payments via a BOOST Card.</blockquote><p>
The Michigan Democrat officially <a href="https://tlaib.house.gov/media/press-releases/tlaib-jayapal-introduce-groundbreaking-bill-deliver-universal-recurring" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">introduced</a> the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6553?" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ABC Act</a> in April 2020 with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), after a few weeks of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/21/two-1-trillion-coins-rashida-tlaib-proposal-calls-us-treasury-fund-coronavirus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">public discussion</a> about it. Jayapal, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/09/exactly-what-we-want-see-overhaul-expected-strengthen-power-congressional" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">chair</a> of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is currently <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/12/after-positive-covid-test-jayapal-demands-house-sergeant-arms-remove-gop-lawmakers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">battling</a> Covid-19 after sheltering with maskless GOP lawmakers while pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol last week.
</p><p>
"We have to deliver $2,000 survival checks to the American people. Not anything less," Jayapal <a href="https://twitter.com/PramilaJayapal/status/1349845246029537282" target="_blank">tweeted</a> Thursday evening. She has stuck to that call throughout the pandemic:
</p><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1309904198679621633" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1309904198679621633&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Fr%2Fentryeditor%2F2649960634%23&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 602px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div><p>Tlaib on Friday also highlighted the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/3590" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BOOST Act</a>, which she and Jayapal <a href="https://tlaib.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-tlaib-colleagues-introduce-anti-poverty-legislation-helping-218-million" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">introduced</a> in June 2019—months before the pandemic—with Reps. Jesús "Chuy" García (D-Ill.), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.). That bill would provide a Middle-Class Tax Credit of up to $3,000 annually for a single taxpayer and up to $6,000 annually for married couples, families, and joint filers.</p><p><a href="https://tlaib.house.gov/issues/boost-act" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">According to </a>a page of Tlaib's congressional website dedicated to the BOOST Act:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Individuals can receive up to $250 per month.</li><li>Families can receive up to $500 per month.</li><li>The credit is refundable, meaning that taxpayers who qualify for it can get it even if they owe no taxes. Filers with no income are still eligible for the credit.</li><li>Can be claimed by single filers making wages up to $49,999.</li><li>Families making wages up to $99,999 are eligible.</li></ul><p>When the bill was introduced, long before the economic devastation of the pandemic, Adam Reuben, director of the Economic Security Project, said that "while Americans work hard—whether it's a full-time job, or caring for a sick family member—an outdated notion of who deserves help from our society means that too many still struggle to make ends meet."</p><p>"The BOOST Act would essentially provide a cost-of-living refund to those who need it most," he added, "so that in the richest country in the world, we can make sure that no one lives in poverty."</p><p>With millions of Americans now out of work because of the public health crisis, and struggling to keep food on the table and a roof ever their heads, the need for relief is even greater. As Pressley <a href="https://twitter.com/AyannaPressley/status/1350159028563881984" target="_blank">put it</a> in a tweet Friday afternoon: "The people deserve, demand, and require $2,000 recurring monthly survival checks."</p> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
CONTINUE READING
Show less