Amidst a bevy of coronavirus relief proposals, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) announced new legislation Saturday morning that would provide every person in America, regardless of citizenship state or age, with a pre-loaded debit card.
“I fully support the [Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters’ (D-CA) COVID-19] economic response proposal,” said Tlaib. “I also want to encourage leadership to consider my truly universal relief proposal.”
I fully support the @FSCDems #COVID19 economic response proposal. I also want to encourage leadership to consider my truly universal relief proposal on behalf of #13thDistrictStrong.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) March 21, 2020
Tlaib’s plan calls for giving a debit card with $2,000 to every person in the country, including children, illegal immigrants, and “temporary visitors whose stay exceeds three months.”
The debit card would fill up with an extra $1,000 for every month of the crisis until one year after the pandemic is over, and anyone with a card could withdraw the full balance from an ATM.
The congresswoman has emphasized that the stimulus proposal doesn’t require the government to issue more debt, as it would be funded by a “new mint program.”
It is important to note: With this proposal, we will NOT require the government to issue more debt.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) March 21, 2020
Instead of racking up debt, Tlaib’s proposal would ask the government to mint two $1 trillion dollar coins, which would then be sold to the treasury department at full face value.
While the congresswoman says the proposal is an emergency measure, toward the bottom of the document she clarifies that she wants to see it enacted alongside progressive tax reform, and “card infrastructure” should be maintained after the pandemic is over.
“In the long term, the card infrastructure should be converted into a permanent, Treasury-administered digital public currency wallet system, to serve as a privacy-respecting ‘eCash’ complement to universal Fed Accounts and/or Postal Bank Accounts for All. This proposal should be accompanied by progressive tax reform to ensure that emergency relief provisioning does not exacerbate income or wealth inequality in the long-term,” says the proposal.
The plan goes farther than Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ (D-CA) proposal, which would provide $2,000 for a household, with an extra $1,000 for children. The payments would also stop after the pandemic is over, and the plan makes no mention of payments to illegal immigrants.
Waters’ proposal, which is designed to be more comprehensive than Tlaib’s plan, also addresses debt collection, eviction, small businesses, and would empower the Securities and Exchange Commission to enact new regulations requiring public companies to disclose supply chain vulnerabilities.
“I am proposing a bold fiscal stimulus package and public policy response that will benefit hardworking and vulnerable Americans who may face financial hardship or even eviction or foreclosure as a result of the coronavirus crisis,” said Waters, reports The Washington Examiner.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, the Trump administration has delayed tax day until July 15, and the Republicans have been debating a proposal that would send direct economic relief to Americans in the form of cashable checks.
“Senate Republicans want to put cash in the hands of the American people,” said Majority Leader Mitch McConnel (R-KY) in response to the proposal, which is still under negotiation. “This is something we want to do right away. This is not an ordinary policy, but this is not an ordinary time. The American people need help and they need it fast. This will deliver it.”