Former Democratic presidential candidate and entrepreneur Andrew Yang applauded Tuesday the White House and President Donald Trump’s efforts to offer Americans financial relief in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m pleased to see the White House adopt our vision of putting money directly into the hands of hard-working Americans,” Yang, now a CNN commentator, said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate to see this development take place under the current circumstances, but this is exactly what Universal Basic Income is designed to do — offer a way to ensure that Americans can make ends meet when they need it most.” (RELATED: How To Help Your Community During The Coronavirus Outbreak)
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang take a photo with supporters. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“I look forward to monitoring the developments of the White House as they consider methods of distribution, and both me and my team are eager to offer our support to ensure this process runs as smoothly as possible.”
Yang added that he hopes “these checks extend beyond this period of dire need in order to prepare us for any future crises and the continued transformation of our economy and our society.”
At Tuesday’s White House coronavirus task force press briefing, Trump and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin both signaled they are seeking to put cash in American workers’ hands as quickly as possible. Mnuchin said part of the problem involved filtering out Americans who make “$1 million a year,” as they don’t require the same financial assistance in times of crisis as hourly workers.
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is interviewed outside of Hopkinton Town Hall following a campaign event. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
Yang’s signature proposal, Universal Basic Income, would provide every American household with $1,000 a month for unseen financial hardships, like dealing with coronavirus. The idea saw a surge of support in recent weeks from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy has submitted a piece of legislation for “every single American, to receive immediate cash relief” to help deal with coronavirus.
I just introduced legislation for every single family, every single American, to receive immediate cash relief.
→$4k to every adult who makes under 100k/year
→$2k to every adult who makes over 100k/year
→$1k for every child 18 or younger— Joe Kennedy III (@joekennedy) March 17, 2020
In addition to the piece of legislation passed by the House last week, Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney proposed Monday the government offer Americans a one-time UBI payment of $1,000 for coronavirus relief.