House Republicans are pushing back on the idea of providing a minimum guaranteed income to Americans amid the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiGOP lawmakers slam proposals for guaranteed income amid pandemic 10 things to know about coronavirus for today Black Caucus moves to front and center in COVID fight MORE (D-Calif.) expressed an openness to the concept on Monday during an interview with MSNBC while discussing the financial aid recently approved by Congress to help bolster the economy.
“Let’s see what works, what is operational and what needs attention,” she said.
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“Others have suggested a minimum income, a guaranteed income for people. Is that worthy of attention now? Perhaps so,” Pelosi continued. “Because there are many more people than just in small business and hired by small business … that may need some assistance as well.”
While Congress previously passed coronavirus relief measures that included provisions to provide up to $1,200 to individuals and forgivable loans to small businesses, proponents of a universal basic income have argued that Congress needs to do more to help Americans stay afloat.
However, top GOP lawmakers are accusing Democrats of attempting to use the pandemic to move policy to the left, blasting the proposal as fiscally irresponsible and opportunistic.
“It’s incredibly tone-deaf of Speaker Pelosi to continue using this crisis to push these radical socialist ideas that have been consistently rejected,” House Minority Whip Steve ScaliseStephen (Steve) Joseph ScaliseGOP lawmakers slam proposals for guaranteed income amid pandemic House reverses, but Senate to return despite COVID threat Why oil prices fell into negative territory — and why it might happen again MORE (R-La.) said. “What we should be focused on is responsibly implementing the relief packages we passed to get trillions of dollars directly into the hands of families and businesses so the American people have jobs and an economy to come back to when we finally reopen.”
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) echoed Scalise’s sentiments, arguing that Congress should be working on a plan to get the economy back on track after the pandemic.
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“Congressional Democrats already told us they’re taking advantage of a crisis to turn America into a socialist country. They admitted this pandemic is a ‘tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit [their] vision,’” Banks said, referring to a comment made by Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.). “Republicans, on the other hand, are trying to provide temporary relief to preserve the strong Trump economy we had before the pandemic.”
Rep. Matt GaetzMatthew (Matt) GaetzGOP lawmakers slam proposals for guaranteed income amid pandemic The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Richard Edelman says business has to step in the COVID-19 void left by politicized media and episodic government; US reaches 1 million COVID-19 cases The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: U.S. reaches grim milestone of 50,000 deaths; UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba says COVID-19 crisis creates opportunity with Iran MORE (R-Fla.) also blasted Democrats for considering the idea.
“The Speaker’s comments reaffirm that Republicans are the party of working Americans while Democrats prefer diminished productivity, hundreds of millions for illegal aliens, upgrades to the Kennedy Center and bailouts for states that made bad decisions before COVID-19 ever escaped the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Gaetz told The Hill.
Meanwhile others have argued that they don’t believe creating another safety net is necessary, pointing out that there are already programs in place that can be utilized to help those struggling financially.
“We already have a universal basic income — it’s called work. We also have [Social Security Disability Insurance] (SSDI) for people who are unable to work physically or due to disabilities. We have security if you’re older, they’ve earned it,” Rep. Paul MitchellPaul MitchellGOP lawmakers slam proposals for guaranteed income amid pandemic House Republicans push back against proxy voting Hundreds of thousands of masks missing from federal shipments to Michigan MORE (R-Mich.) told The Hill.
“We have a variety of forms of support for people like unemployment compensation and public assistance for purely short term assistance,” Mitchell continued, “so I’m trying to understand exactly what [Pelosi] wants to do besides throw more money at people.”
While the idea of a standard income has faced strong opposition from the GOP, members of both parties have floated proposals for additional federal assistance to be provided to individuals and businesses amid the pandemic.
Sen. Josh HawleyJoshua (Josh) David HawleyGOP lawmakers slam proposals for guaranteed income amid pandemic Bipartisan pair of senators request antitrust probe into meatpacking industry Privacy hawks willing to see how new contact tracing project plays out MORE (R-Mo.) has proposed for the federal government to pay 80 percent of workers’ wages through the end of the pandemic. And Reps. Tim RyanTimothy (Tim) RyanGOP lawmakers slam proposals for guaranteed income amid pandemic Pelosi: Minimum guaranteed income may now be ‘worthy of attention’ 14 things to know about coronavirus for today MORE (D-Ohio) and Ro KhannaRohit (Ro) KhannaGOP lawmakers slam proposals for guaranteed income amid pandemic The Hill’s Campaign Report: New York cancels primary amid coronavirus Pelosi: Minimum guaranteed income may now be ‘worthy of attention’ MORE (D-Calif.) have proposed for those making less than $130,000 a year to receive a monthly payment of at least $2,000.
Rep. Pramila JayapalPramila JayapalGOP lawmakers slam proposals for guaranteed income amid pandemic The Hill’s Campaign Report: New York cancels primary amid coronavirus Pelosi: Minimum guaranteed income may now be ‘worthy of attention’ MORE (D-Wash.), a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, introduced a measure that would create a program to provide a federal guarantee for 100 percent of workers’ salaries of up to $100,000 for up to three months.
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