Fourth stimulus: Sens. Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren push President Joe Biden for $2,000 monthly check [View all]

Fourth stimulus: Sens. Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren push President Joe Biden for $2,000 monthly checks


Nearly two dozen U.S. senators now want the federal government to send recurring COVID-19 stimulus checks to tens of millions of Americans for the duration of the pandemic.

In a letter led by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and including Massachusetts Democrats Sen. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, 21 lawmakers on Tuesday pressed President Joe Biden to include monthly payments and automatic extensions to unemployment insurance in his future recovery efforts, which are expected to cost up to $4 trillion.

“A single direct payment will not last long for most families, and we are worried about the cliff facing unemployed workers when the unemployment insurance extensions expire on Sept. 6,” the lawmakers wrote, referencing the $1,400 payments and jobless aid in Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. “This crisis is far from over, and families deserve certainty that they can put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. Families should not be at the mercy of constantly-shifting legislative timelines and ad hoc solutions.”

When Markey and Sen. Bernie Sanders and then-Sen. Kamala Harris proposed monthly COVID-19 stimulus payments of $2,000 last year, the idea didn’t gain much traction.

Read more: https://www.masslive.com/coronavirus/2021/03/fourth-stimulus-sens-ed-markey-elizabeth-warren-push-president-joe-biden-for-2000-monthly-checks.html