Bernie Sanders: ‘Congress cannot go home’ for Christmas without passing stimulus checks for Americans

Senator says Americans are facing economic desperation

Bernie Sanders is again urgently calling on his colleagues in Congress to pass direct stimulus payments to Americans before returning home for the holiday break.

“Congress cannot go home for the Christmas holidays until we pass legislation which provides a $1,200 direct payment to working class adults, $2,400 for couples, and a $500 payment to their children,” the Vermont senator said on Monday.

"This is what Democrats and Republicans did unanimously in March through the CARES Act. This is what we have to do today."

So far, direct payments to Americans are not part of the $908 billion bipartisan compromise deal being championed by other senators to help deal with the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Sanders argues that as a result of coronavirus, tens of millions of Americans are facing economic desperation.

“They can't afford to pay their rent and face eviction, they can't afford to go to the doctor, they can't afford to feed their children and they are going deeper and deeper into debt,” he said.

Despite many economists arguing in favour of individual stimulus payments as a method of keeping consumer demand going, their inclusion in any federal economic response does not look likely until after President-elect Joe Biden takes office in late January.

In an interview with Politico, Mr Sanders urged Democrats to reject the current bill being tabled by the bipartisan congressional group, describing it as “totally inadequate”.

He said it fell far short of what was needed being only $748bn and not the original proposal of $3.4 trillion.

“What kind of negotiation is it when you go from $3.4 trillion to $188 billion in new money? That is not a negotiation. That is a collapse,” the independent senator told the outlet. “We cannot go home until there [are] strong unemployment benefits plus $1,200 per adult, $500 per kid for every working person and family in this country.”

Mr Sanders has found support from the other side of the aisle — Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri agrees that relief checks should be part of any proposal, although the total cost of the bill would then be elevated to a point that would make conservatives unlikely to support it.

The current proposal is a $748 billion compromise spending bill and a $160 billion supplemental bill of state and local spending with a liability shield for companies.

Friday’s deadline to approve government funding gives Senator Sanders some leverage to push for the inclusion of stimulus checks.

A White House proposal to give Americans a $600 check was branded by Mr Sanders as “crap”.