Democrat lawmakers propose $2,000 monthly pandemic relief payments for Americans

Democratic Reps. Ro Khanna and Tim Ryan on Tuesday introduced legislation that would provide $2,000 per month to all eligible Americans ages 16 and up to help during the pandemic.

The payments would continue for at least six months and potentially for as long as 12 months. Individuals earning less than $130,000 would be eligible for the monthly $2,000 payments, including those who are unemployed. Parents would also receive an additional $500 per child, with a limit for three children.

Their proposal comes as many Americans have already begun receiving one-time payments approved in a recent coronavirus stimulus package, but the congressmen say more is required.

"A one-time, twelve-hundred-dollar check isn’t going to cut it,” Khanna stated. “Americans need sustained cash infusions for the duration of this crisis in order to come out on the other side alive, healthy, and ready to get back to work." 

Much of the business sector has been hard-hit during the coronavirus pandemic leaving scads of workers unemployed as people hunker down at home and government restrictions force some businesses to close.