Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today joined 58 House members in urging House and Senate leadership to include direct cash assistance to Americans in the current stimulus package negotiations. Direct cash assistance, also referred to as economic impact payments or stimulus checks, is one of the most effective and equitable tools of economic support and has been cited with preventing many American families from falling into poverty during the global coronavirus pandemic. Full text of the letter can be found here.

“Almost half of all households in the United States reported experiencing serious financial concerns such as running out of savings and not having enough money for basic necessities. Cash assistance has become a lifeline for the American people,” said the lawmakers in their letter. “We have learned from the CARES Act that the economic impact payments (EIPs) saved many families from financial ruin and sheltered the economy as a whole. According to a Census Household Pulse Survey, most respondents used these checks to pay for everyday expenses including food, rents/mortgages, utilities, and other consumer debts. This boost in consumer spending in the second quarter helped to prop up the economy…Direct cash assistance is one of the most effective and equitable tools of support and has been cited with preventing many families with falling into poverty nationwide.” 

The CARES Act authorized economic impact payments of up to $1,200 for most Americans. However, that one-time payment hasn’t gone far enough to solve the financial emergencies being caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which are particularly experienced by low-wage earners, women, and Black and Latinx communities. In their letter, the lawmakers also pushed for increased unemployment insurance, SNAP benefits, childcare funding, and aid to state and local governments. 

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