Stimulus Check: Kamala Harris Wants to Give $12,000 to Beneficiaries Right Away

By Madelaine D. First Posted: Aug 22, 2020 04:06 AM EDT

Senator Kamala Harris, nominated as Democrat vice presidential candidate, articulates a vision of giving many Americans a new bigger monthly stimulus check to help them get through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Americans got to know her more this week when she accepted the vice-presidential nomination on Wednesday night. Harris vowed to take care of the low-income and middle-class Americans until the end of the pandemic, and even beyond it, as per BGR.

Stimulus Check: Kamala Harris Wants to Give $12,000 to Beneficiaries Right Away

(Photo : Win McNamee)
Vice Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris Addresses Virtual DNC From Delaware WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - AUGUST 19: Democratic vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) interacts with viewers via a video conference on the third night of the Democratic National Convention from the Chase Center August 19, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. The convention, which was once expected to draw 50,000 people to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is now taking place virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. Harris is the first African-American, first Asian-American, and third female vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket.

As a senator, Harris has signed a bill that supports sending out a new wave of stimulus checks, which goes much farther than any such plan proposed to-date in Congress.

Along with Senators Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey, Harris supported the idea of providing most Americans with a new stimulus check worth $2,000, and she wanted it to be sent every month until the coronavirus pandemic ends.

This plan is also retroactive back to the beginning of the pandemic. So since it began six months ago, the first check of a beneficiary under this proposal would be a total of $12,000 (6 months x $2,000).

Direct cash transfers to beneficiaries are regarded in some circles as an easy way to provide an immediate lift to the economy.

As per BGR, people ideally would take their $2,000 stimulus payment and then spends it. However, a portion of it would go to paying their bills and savings.

The plan proposed by Harris had likely no chance to pass in Congress right now. But there's nothing that also says the proposal can't be tweaked a bit into a more legislatively practical.

"I'm not trying to restructure society. I'm just trying to take care of the issues that wake people up in the middle of the night," Harris told the New York Times last year.

On different events, Harris mentioned that the monthly stimulus payments should be $2,000 instead of a one-time, second $1,200 stimulus.

Harris said on MSNBC that the government needs to give people below a certain income level, $2,000 per month through the course of the pandemic and crisis. The plan aims to help people get back up on their feet instead of falling deeper into the vent of crisis.

According to The Simple Dollar, Harris' made a proposal called the COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Disparities Task Force Act to address the health care inequality amid the pandemic.

The recommendation also proposed assisting federal agencies in disbursing COVID-19 relief funds, including the Paycheck Protection Program and the Education Stabilization Fund.

Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve chairman, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic basically screw the economy for several more years.

Meanwhile, the official tallies from the coronavirus cases in the United States continue to mount. According to Johns Hopkins University, there are almost 5.6 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S., with more than 174,000 deaths.