SECOND ROUND OF STIMULUS CHECKS SECURED IN FINAL RELIEF DEAL
Congressional allies of Humanity Forward build bipartisan push to include direct stimulus checks for American families in year-end COVID relief package.
Congress is expected tomorrow to approve a $900+ billion relief bill to stimulate the economy, with the inclusion of $166 billion in direct economic stimulus payments to American families.
“While more needs to be done, we’re thankful to the members of the House and Senate, of both parties, who are standing up and fighting for those in need,” said Humanity Forward founder Andrew Yang in a statement.
Unlike the CARES Act bill passed in March, this final relief package includes significantly higher stimulus checks to families with children, and also includes payments to mixed status families.
In recounting how these stimulus checks came to be included in the final package, Humanity Forward is humbled to have worked with a bipartisan group of lawmakers, who just two weeks ago introduced “The Coronavirus Assistance For American Families Act” (H.R. 8893), the first-ever bipartisan standalone cash relief legislation. H.R. 8893 was cosponsored by 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans, including a number of caucus chairs, with lead sponsors Congressman David McKinley (R-WV) and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE). The full list of cosponsors is below:
- Rep. Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-DE-At Large], Lead sponsor, Co-chair of the Future of Work Caucus,
- Rep. McKinley, David B. [D-WV-1], Lead sponsor,
- Rep. Jeffries, Hakeem S. [D-NY-8], Chair of the Democratic Caucus
- Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5], Co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus
- Rep. Reed, Tom [R-NY-23], Co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus
- Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7], Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
- Rep. O’Halleran, Tom [D-AZ-1], Chair of the Blue Dog Caucus.
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1], Vice-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus
- Rep. Lamb, Conor [D-PA-17],
- Rep. Gonzalez-Colon, Jenniffer [R-PR-At Large], Resident Commissioner of PR
- Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7],
- Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12], Ranking member of Subcommittee of Economic Opportunities in the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs
- Rep. Wagner, Ann [R-MO-2],
- Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3], Incoming Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus in the 117th Congress
- Rep. Mullin, Markwayne [R-OK-2],
- Rep. Tipton, Scott R. [R-CO-3],
- Rep. Ruiz, Raul [D-CA-36], Incoming Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the 117th Congress,
- Rep. Castor, Kathy [D-FL-14], Chair of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis,
- Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2],
- Rep. Reschenthaler, Guy [R-PA-14],
- Rep. Aguilar, Pete [D-CA-31], Whip of the New Democrat Caucus
- Rep. Riggleman, Denver [R-VA-5],
- Rep. Spanberger, Abigail Davis [D-VA-7], Freshman Whip of the Problem Solvers Caucus,
- Rep. Garcia, Mike [R-CA-25].
“Today, Congress votes for a long overdue stimulus package,” said Representative David McKinley (R-WV), one of the two lead cosponsors of H.R. 8893. “We are pleased that direct payments to individuals and families are part of the relief. This is thanks in large part to the pressure bipartisan members of both the Senate and House put on negotiators to include direct relief. While the amount is lower than what we called for in our bill, this will still help people who are struggling.”
“I’m pleased that Congressional leadership has agreed to a COVID-19 relief package, including direct payments, which Rep. McKinley and I advocated for,” said Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), the other lead cosponsor. “While the checks are less than we had hoped for, they will still provide temporary needed relief to American families and I’m hopeful we can continue to work to secure additional relief as soon as possible.”
These representatives and others worked to ensure that direct cash relief would be included in the final COVID relief package by presenting this breakthrough legislation and then communicating their support for stimulus checks to leadership. Humanity Forward knows there were more leaders who wanted to sign onto the bill, and thanks each and every one of them for championing the people and their needs in this time of crisis. Moreover, given the persistent uncertainty of a COVID relief deal materializing over the past few weeks, the inclusion of broadly-popular stimulus checks may well have helped salvage the entire deal.
Humanity Forward is also very thankful for Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), two Senators who share few ideological goals, but who came together in a bipartisan call for greater assistance for the American people. Together they demonstrated the cross-ideological appeal direct cash relief presents as an economic recovery tool going forward.
“We’re thankful for our allies who fought for inclusion of new checks, and helped finally push through a new deal,” said Mr. Yang. “But $600 is not enough for struggling American families. Those who stood in the way of more assistance should take note that the people can see who stood with them in their time of need. We’re going to keep pushing for a stronger long-term stimulus. 88% of Americans are for ongoing cash relief during this crisis – it’s simply the right thing to do.”
Bipartisan support for direct cash relief polls over 74% among both Democrats and Republicans, and Humanity Forward has worked with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle who strongly support cash relief. Humanity Forward will continue to press for direct stimulus checks in January, with a new Congress and with the Biden Administration.
Humanity Forward is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization dedicated to building bipartisan coalitions to advance the economic interests and policy priorities of the American people.
If you or your outlet is interested in covering the impacts of Humanity Forward or Andrew Yang in advocating for direct cash relief for the American people, or speaking with the cosponsors of this legislation for an interview, please contact Humanity Forwards’ press secretary Greg Nasif at press@movehumanityforward.com or 804-742-2076. Thank you.
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