More than 127,000 new supporters have signed a petition calling for a monthly $2,000 stimulus check in the last month as the Delta coronavirus variant is pushing cases, deaths, and hospitalizations through the roof.
Stephanie Bonin, a Denver restaurant owner, launched the Change.org petition last year, urging lawmakers from the U.S. House and Senate to pass a recurring payment bill. The legislation that is being requested is to support families with a recurring payment that is worth $2,000 for adults and $1,000 for children.
Stimulus Check Petition
The petition asks for immediate distribution of the funds as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the United States. The petition has acquired more than 2,854,500 signatures as of Saturday, getting about 127,700 new supporters in the last month. It is set to become the website's most signed petition if it hits its three million signature goal.
In an interview in July, Bonin said, "The most common reason [people sign] is that uncertain feeling. We're still in uncertain times." While dozens of politicians have been calling for new stimulus checks since last May, many others have expressed their views that another relief package was not the optimal choice, Newsweek reported.
On July 30, Democratic Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar introduced a bill that would structure a federal universal basic income system. The legislation, if passed, would mark the beginning of a five-year income pilot program that would pay workers at least $1,200 monthly to adults who have less than $75,000 annual salary. Dependents would also receive half the amount that adults take.
Currently, only four lawmakers have signed the legislation, Cori Bush, Dwight Evans, Jamaal Bowman, and Pramila Jayapal. In a letter sent on March 30, Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden led 21 Democratic senators calling for United States President Joe Biden to support a recurring stimulus check. They argued that the $1,400 relief payments were not enough to support low-income families amid the pandemic.
White House officials have not openly supported passing another relief package to the budget legislation, arguing that American households are receiving enough aid, including the child tax credit payments, Yahoo News reported.
Relief Payment Packages
The situation comes as 150 economists, including the former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Jason Furman, who worked under the Obama administration, call for more recurring relief payments.
In a desperate attempt, some states are providing their own stimulus checks and relief payment packages to help residents struggling financially. In California, the Golden State Stimulus sends relief payments to residents that have reached 600,000 individuals on Aug. 27.
Some Californians may receive their payments later than others due to the current rate of distribution by the California Franchise Tax Board. A spokesperson for the agency said that recipients would see their money deposited into their bank accounts a few days after the time that they were sent. While no specific date was announced, the next round of relief payments is expected to reach about two million people in the middle of the month, the San Francisco Gate reported.
