AOC rips Republicans because the coronavirus stimulus bill doesn't include cash payments to illegal immigrants
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has lashed out at Republicans because the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill does not include direct payments to taxpayers without a Social Security number, including people living in the U.S. illegally.
'To clarify, $1200 checks are ONLY going to some w/social sec numbers, NOT immigrants w/ tax IDs (ITINs),' the freshman Democrat from New York wrote in a tweet on Thursday.
'Thanks to GOP, these checks will be cut off the backs of *taxpaying immigrants,* who get nothing. Many are essential workers who pay more taxes than Amazon,' she continued.
The Internal Revenue Service issues ITINs to taxpayers who are ineligible for a Social Security number, mostly - though not exclusively - because they are present in the country illegally.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has lashed out at Republicans because the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill does not include direct payments to illegal immigrants
U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, and those with an immigrant work visa are all eligible for Social Security numbers for tax purposes.
However, unauthorized immigrants can and do file taxes, leaving immigrant advocates outraged that they will not receive cash payments under the stimulus bill.
'We must put meaningful resources into the pockets of those hardest hit by the coronavirus. Immigrant families must be included!' tweeted Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a New York Democrat.
'Any stimulus package passed that doesn’t support immigrants isn’t doing its job as a stimulus package,' added Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington state Democrat.
It's unclear whether Ocasio-Cortez or any of her Democrat colleagues plan to obstruct passage of the bill if their demands are not met.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to hold a vote on Friday, but will be forced to use a procedural loophole because the chamber is not in session, and members are currently scattered in their home districts.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell oversaw the passage of the bill in the Senate, but it must now pass in the House where progressive members are outraged
Pelosi plans to hold a voice vote, asking for yeas and nays from anyone present in the chamber, and recording whichever she determines is louder.
However, the voice vote could be derailed if any member objects that there isn't a quorum.
Across the nation, millions who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic and mandatory business shutdowns will be watching the House vote as they wait for a lifeline.
For those with a Social Security number, everyone earning up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income - the income on your tax return - will receive a $1,200 payment under the stimulus bill if it passes the House.
The payment steadily declines for those who make more, and phases out for those who earn more than $99,000.
For married couples, both adults receive $1,200, with the phase-out starting at $150,000 of income and falling to zero for couples who earn $198,000.
Each child will also get $500. For heads of household with one child, the benefit starts to decline at $112,500 in annual income and falls to zero at $146,500.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to hold a voice vote on the stimulus bill on Friday, but any representative could derail the vote by objecting that a quorum isn't present
The U.S. Treasury will direct deposit the money in your bank if they have that information from this year's tax return or last year's.
For everyone else, they will mail a check. If you didn't file a tax return for either 2018 or 2019, your check could be delayed. The government can use your Social Security benefit statement as well.
The stimulus bill also includes a $367 billion program for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers are forced to stay home, and extends unemployment benefits for laid off workers.
The bill's huge cash infusion for hospitals expecting a flood of COVID-19 patients totals an estimated $130 billion. Another $45 billion would fund additional relief through the Federal Emergency Management Agency for local response efforts and community services.
One of the most contentious issues concerned $500 billion for guaranteed, subsidized loans to larger industries, which Ocasio-Cortez called 'corporate welfare'.
'What Trump + Senate GOP have done is hold hospitals, working people, and the vulnerable hostage so they could get in $500 billion (that will be leveraged into $4T) in corporate welfare,' she tweeted.
'Without the Wall St giveaway, GOP refuses to fund hospitals & unemployment. It’s inhumane.'
