Bernie Sanders slams Biden for giving fewer Americans Covid relief money than Trump did; sparks debate

On Saturday, Sen Bernie Sanders criticized President Joe Biden for trying to give fewer Americans Covid relief money than the Trump administration did. His comments come shortly after Biden's new $1.9 trillion Covid budget plan was passed in the Senate on Friday morning. The 79-year-old did not mince words when taking to Twitter to express his disapproval of the Biden administration's new plans. 

"Unbelievable. There are some Dems who want to lower the income eligibility for direct payments from $75,000 to $50,000 for individuals, and $150,000 to $100,000 for couples," Sanders tweeted on Saturday evening, adding, "In other words, working class people who got checks from Trump would not get them from Biden. Brilliant!"

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About 20 minutes later, he took to his formal senator Twitter account to further write about the third relief plan, which is only likely to help Americans with lower incomes. "I strongly oppose lowering income eligibility for direct payments from $75,000 to $50,000 for individuals and $150,000 to $100,000 for couples," Sanders wrote, adding, "In these difficult times, ALL working class people deserve the full $1,400. Last I heard, someone making $55,000 a year is not 'rich.'"

Biden had promised the people "to act fast" to get $1,400 stimulus checks to Americans. But the proposed plan for the relief money will reportedly be restricted to people on certain incomes. The first two rounds of Covid relief payments saw a larger number of individuals receive the stimulus checks — taxpayers earning up to $75,000 and couples making less than $150,000 were eligible to get the first round of $1,400 checks and the second round of $600 checks.

But, according to The Washington Post, the most recent proposal by Democrats will provide the third round of stimulus checks, which is worth $1,400, only to taxpayers earning up to $50,000. Heads of household making a yearly salary of up to $75,000 would also be eligible, as well as married couples who make a total of up to $100,000.

According to reports, tax policy specialist Kyle Pomerleau told the news outlet approximately 71 percent of US taxpayers would receive the max amount of money. And another 17 percent would get partial payments. 

The president had vowed "to act fast" to get the third installment of stimulus checks to Americans. During a press briefing on Friday, Biden told reporters that he would not delay getting the stimulus payments sent out. "I'm going to act fast," he said. "I'm going to help the American people who are hurting now." Biden also confirmed that the relief payments would not be cut down.

"Here's what I won't do: I'm not cutting the size of the checks," he said. "They're going to be $1,400. Period. That's what the American people were promised."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters on Friday: "Hopefully in a two-week period of time we'll send something over to the Senate and this will be done.”

On Thursday, the Senate voted 99-1 on an amendment from Sens Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) related to "targeting" the checks and making sure that "upper-income taxpayers are not eligible." Manchin said ahead of the vote, "I don't think a single person on this floor would disagree to target the relief to our neighbors who are struggling to pay rent and put food on the table." Collins added, “Do we want stimulus checks to go to households with family incomes of $300,000 or do we want to target the assistance to struggling families who need the help and provide a boost for the economy?" 

Ever since Sanders took to Twitter to share his disapproval, fellow progressive Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also supported him by retweeting Sanders’ post, writing, "It would be outrageous if we ran on giving more relief and ended up doing the opposite. It’s sad that this is even an argument in the Dem party. COVID relief is disaster relief, & it’s urgent. Our first act out of the gate should be big, bold, and strong. Not weaker & smaller." She added, "In conclusion, $50k is wack and we shouldn’t do wack things."

Sander's tweets have sparked a debate on social media about social and monetary inequalities, with many seeking clarity. "Terrible idea to hand over cash to rich people who don’t need it," one tweeted. "Senator Sanders, I was blessed to maintain a paycheck through 2020. Perhaps Congress can distinguish between those who lost a job and those who did not, regardless of salary. The pool for those who lost work could be a lot larger this way," another said.

"Tell me why....someone who’s been employed throughout the pandemic....deserves a check from the government???" one user tweeted. To which, another explained, "Wow! So people not working should be entitled to handouts paid for by working people's taxes? But while I have used all my savings and my 401k to maintain my household while working and putting myself and my family at risk, I deserve no assistance?"