Senator Bernie Sanders issued a warning Sunday about lowering the threshold for Americans to receive coronavirus relief checks, saying he agrees with a limit for high winners but not for the working class that earns 50,000 dollars a year.
President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan calls for $ 1,400 to be sent to eligible Americans, but some Democrats and Republicans have raised the idea of putting limits on who gets the payments. .
Biden has said he would be receptive.
Instead of a $ 75,000 limit for people, they seek to reduce it to $ 50,000; for couples it would go from $ 150,000 to $ 100,000.
Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said lawmakers must “do the right thing” from a policy standpoint.
“It’s absurd to tell working class people, someone who has decent union work (he’s earning $ 55,000 and $ 60,000), I’m sorry, he’s not eligible for the program. It doesn’t make sense to me and I don’t think it makes sense to the American people, “Sanders (I-Vt.) Told CNN’s” State of the Union. “
But he said he agreed to a phasing out of $ 300,000 for controls.
“When people said we don’t want rich people to get that benefit, I understand. I agree. And what we need to do is have a steep cliff, so it doesn’t pour into people earning $ 300,000. And that’s what I stand for. And that’s what I think most people understand, ”Sanders said.
His progressive colleague in the House, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also clashed against the thresholds and said people should receive $ 2,000 stimulus checks.
“Just help people!” He said.