Indian American Congressman Khanna co-sponsors Emergency Cash Infusion bill to help working class Americans.
As the world fights the COVID-19 pandemic on a war footing, economists have warned that the pandemic would take a financial toll well beyond imagination.Forced to stay at home, a large number of working class Americans need financial aid to tide over this crisis.
Keeping this in mind, two House members, Indian American Ro Khanna from California and fellow Democrat Tim Ryan from Ohio have proposed a legislation to establish an emergency Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill would provide a check of $1,000 to $6,000 to every American who earned less than $65,000 last year. More than three-quarters of American workers would qualify for this tax relief.
Americans most likely to be impacted by the public health crisis – including hourly workers, independent contractors, and gig workers – would get a much-needed emergency boost during this economic downturn.
The Congress has been considering many proposals and late last week Senate Republicans also introduced a plan to give $1200 checks to those earning $75,000 per year, while tying it to large corporate tax cuts.
While applauding the plan, Khanna called it not as far-reaching. He and Ryan instead proposed sending checks to 200 million Americans within three weeks of the legislation’s passage, followed by additional monthly payments for the rest of the year.
Khanna and Ryan have urged the leadership to consider their proposal for the third package of COVID-19 response legislation in the coming weeks.
“In order to alleviate the economic fallout of the Coronavirus, we must ensure hard-working Americans have money in their pockets and are able to pay their bills,” said Khanna.
“We must soften the blow for workers as large gatherings and events are canceled and hours are cut,” he said noting, “A payroll tax cut is not sufficient.”
“This plan is about providing real, urgently needed relief to middle and working-class families,” Khanna said. “If we can afford to pump $1.5 trillion into lending markets, then we can afford this solution to help every American.”
“I am proud to work with Rep. Ryan to make this proposal a reality,” the Indian American lawmaker said.
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