New Analysis Compares Republican- and Democratic-Sponsored Proposals to Help Families and Individuals
news releaseThe economic stimulus bill released by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Thursday night would leave behind millions of adults and children and do little to help struggling families weather this current public health and economic crisis, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) said today.
ITEP has released a new analysis that compares Sen. McConnell’s CARES Act to a plan sponsored by Sens. Cory Booker, Michael Bennet and Sherrod Brown. Here are some of the key findings:
- The GOP plan leaves out 5.6 million adults and 2.8 million children among the poorest 20 percent of taxpayers because the proposal excludes those with very low incomes. Sixteen percent of adults and 20 percent of children in the lowest income group would not benefit from the GOP plan.
The Booker-Bennet-Brown plan benefits everyone among the bottom 80 percent of taxpayers. Unlike the GOP plan, it would provide payments to every low- and middle-income adult and child.
Low-income families who benefit from the GOP plan would receive smaller payments, on average, than others. The average payment to those in the bottom 20 percent would be $750, compared to an overall average of $1,330 for all income groups. - The Bennet-Booker-Brown plan would provide an average benefit of $8,610 compared to $1,330 under the GOP plan. The Democratic plan provides a larger benefit to families over a longer period of time.
- Both plans would phase out payments for those with relatively higher incomes, but only the GOP plan takes the additional step of limiting benefits for those with low incomes.
- The Booker-Bennet-Brown proposal focuses on direct aid to families. The Democratic proposal would provide families and individuals with $1.4 trillion, while the GOP would provide about $216 billion in benefits to families. The remainder of the GOP’s $1 trillion package would go toward breaks for corporations and other businesses.
“This country’s severe economic crisis requires immediate, bold solutions that will deliver assistance to families that need it most,” said Amy Hanauer, executive director of ITEP. “People across the U.S. are reeling. Stores are closing. Travel is restricted. Unemployment is spiking. Families and communities need universal help. The McConnell proposal does not meet the needs of this moment and will leave us with an economy that can’t recover. The Democratic proposal gets us closer to delivering the critical help that the public needs, including vulnerable families who need it most.”
