Stimulus checks ‘critical’ to get economy back on its feet, economists say in letter
Economists have signed an open letter, urging lawmakers to pass another coronavirus relief package to provide direct payments to Americans and businesses that are struggling during the pandemic.
Democrats, Republicans and the White House have tried but failed to negotiate a follow-up package to the CARES Act, which was passed in March and provided most Americans with $1,200 relief checks and temporarily expanded unemployment benefits during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Unless policymakers act quickly to respond to the crisis at the scale necessary, we risk the damage to the economy lasting much longer than necessary, particularly for those at the bottom who have been hit the hardest,” more than 125 economists wrote in an open letter published by the Economic Security Project.
The group of economists includes Alan Blinder, former Vice Chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve System, and Jason Furman, economic adviser to former President Barack Obama.
“We know that the next stimulus needs to be big, immediate and direct, and lasting until the economy recovers,” the letter said. “We urge policymakers to use all the tools at their disposal to revitalize the economy, including direct cash payments, which are one of the quickest, most equitable, and most effective ways to get families and the economy back on track.”
The economists wrote that relief checks “should be paired with other valuable programs like unemployment benefits, aid to state and local governments, stronger SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits, robust child care funding and more.”
They also wrote that “a robust stimulus” is important for “a sustained and racially equitable recovery and help families and businesses get back on their feet.”
President-elect Joe Biden’s advisers are preparing for the chances of a recession next year and are pushing for lawmakers to agree on a stimulus package, even if it doesn’t live up to the deal that Democrats were hoping to pass, The New York Times reported.
Earlier, Biden had said was would support legislation similar to the HEROES Act, a $3 trillion coronavirus aid bill passed by House Democrats in May that never received a vote in the Senate, according to CNBC. A $2.2 trillion updated version of the aid package was unveiled in September.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans introduced their own version of a $1 trillion second stimulus package, called the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act, in July.
This story was originally published November 24, 2020 at 11:13 AM with the headline "Stimulus checks ‘critical’ to get economy back on its feet, economists say in letter."