Stimulus Checks
Economic stimulus checks are prepared for printing at the Philadelphia Financial Center May 8, 2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Jeff Fusco/Stringer
  • Seven Democrats urged Biden to include recurrent stimulus payments in his infrastructure plan.
  • They also requested Biden extend unemployment benefits tied to economic conditions.
  • This adds to the growing number of Democrats pushing for permanent checks to sustain economic recovery.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

Americans have so far received three stimulus checks, but since the start of the pandemic, a growing number of Democrats have been pushing for recurring payments to ensure economic recovery continues beyond the end of COVID-19. Seven more Democrats just joined the cause.

Last week, Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to include recurring direct stimulus payments and unemployment benefits tied to economic conditions in his American Families Plan. The letter said that six in 10 adults reported the last round of stimulus checks would last less than three months, with most of them spending the checks on necessities like food and rent, stressing the need for long-term payments.

"The pandemic has served as a stark reminder that families and workers need certainty in a crisis," the Democrats wrote. "They deserve to know they can put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. They should not be at the mercy of constantly shifting legislative timelines and ad hoc solutions."

They added that jobless aid and stimulus payments "work in tandem," given that while unemployment benefits replace lost income from work, stimulus checks are "crucial for supporting struggling families that fall out of its reach."

Insider reported on April 22 that sending out a fourth and fifth stimulus check could keep 12 million more Americans out of poverty. On April 23, Insider reported that a growing number of Democrats, and Americans, think stimulus checks should be permanent.

Since the passing of the CARES Act in March 2020, House Democrats wanted to go beyond the $1,200 check, with Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Kamala Harris of California releasing a plan last May to give recurring $2,000 monthly checks to Americans for the duration of the pandemic.

Harris told MSNBC: "Through the course of this pandemic and crisis, we need to give people $2,000 a month as recurrent payments - people below a certain income level - to help them and sustain them through these months of crisis so at the end of it, they can get back up on their feet instead of falling deep deep deep into the crevices of this crisis."

In December, 125 economists wrote an open letter calling for recurring payments tied to economic conditions beyond the single check for each American included in the stimulus plan, and on March 31, 21 Democratic senators urged Biden in a letter to include recurring direct payments in his $4 trillion infrastructure plan.

The latest call from the Ways and Means Democrats comes as Biden is in the midst of negotiations with Republicans on the size of his infrastructure package, and he has not yet commented on the inclusion of recurring payments in his plan.

However, given that the White House on Friday offered to cut Biden's $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan down to $1.7 trillion in a counter-offer to Republicans, the inclusion of recurring stimulus payments and extended unemployment benefits is unlikely.

Read the original article on Business Insider