Mar 18, 2020 - Health

Sanders proposes giving every U.S. household $2,000 during coronavirus outbreak

Rebecca Falconer

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) talks about his plan to deal with the coronavirus pandemic — Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders discusses his plan to deal with the coronavirus outbreak during a livestream on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Photo: berniesanders.com via Getty Images

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Tuesday a plan to give American households $2,000 a month and for gig economy workers to receive unemployment payouts during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

What he's saying: "In this unprecedented moment, this will require an unprecedented amount of money. My own guess is that we’ll be spending $2 trillion in funding to prevent deaths, job losses, and to avoid an economic catastrophe."

The big picture: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said earlier Tuesday the Trump administration is discussing sending checks to Americans "immediately" to help alleviate the economic impact of the outbreak.

Conservative economists have called for direct government payments of $1,000 to every American adult, Axios' Alayna Treen notes.
Mnuchin said the amount of each check "may be a little bit bigger than what's in the press."

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Sanders proposes giving every U.S. household $2,000 during coronavirus outbreak

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