Harris is one of three senators who proposed a bill that would provide monthly direct payments of $2,000 to those earning up to $120,000 a year.
As negotiations for a new federal economic relief package enter into October, many Americans are wondering if they will ever see another round of the direct payments last authorized by Congress in March. While both Republicans and Democrats generally agree that a second round of stimulus checks are needed to bolster the struggling economy, they disagree on the size and scope of such a measure. And Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for vice president, stands out on the issue even among her own colleagues. In May, Harris touted the idea of monthly stimulus checks, introducing the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act along with Democratic Senators Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey. Dubbed the Harris-Sanders-Markey (HSM) plan, the bill provides up to $2,000 per month to those earning up to $120,000 per year. The legislation would be retroactive to March, meaning that if the bill passes in October, Americans will receive an additional seven months’ worth of payments. The HSM plan says that a maximum of three dependents per family could also receive $2,000 each, meaning that a family of five could receive up to $10,000 per month. The bill states that the payments would continue for three months after the declared end of the coronavirus pandemic. Newsweek subscription offers > Additionally, every U.S. resident is eligible to receive payment, whether or not they file taxes or have a Social Security number. This means undocumented immigrants could receive the money, in addition to U.
