Emergency Money for the People Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6496 To provide for the issuance of emergency monthly payments to every American throughout the duration of the coronavirus crisis to be provided by the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with other Federal and State agencies. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 14, 2020 Mr. RYAN (for himself, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. SOTO, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. MENG, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. NEGUSE, and Mr. TED LIEU of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Ways and Means A BILL To provide for the issuance of emergency monthly payments to every American throughout the duration of the coronavirus crisis to be provided by the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with other Federal and State agencies. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Money for 4 the People Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:15 May 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6496.IH H6496 lotter on DSK9F5VC42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6496 IH SEC. 2. EMERGENCY PAYMENTS. 1 (a) GENERAL RULE.— 2 (1) DIRECTIVE TO MAKE PAYMENTS.—The Sec- 3 retary of the Treasury shall make a payment in each 4 month of the payment period to each eligible indi- 5 vidual. 6 (2) BEGINNING DATE.—Payments for the first 7 of such months shall be distributed within 14 days 8 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 9 (3) PAYMENT PERIOD.—The term ‘‘payment 10 period’’ means the 12-month period beginning with 11 the first month in which the Secretary makes a pay- 12 ment under paragraph (1), unless as of the end of 13 the sixth month of such period the employment-to- 14 population ratio for people ages 16 and over is 15 greater than 60 percent. 16 (4) FORM AND MANNER OF PAYMENTS.—Pay- 17 ments under paragraph (1) shall be made in such 18 form and manner as the Secretary shall provide, ex- 19 cept that the Secretary shall— 20 (A) offer the option of receiving payments 21 under this section by direct deposit, check, pre- 22 paid debit card, or electronic transfer of pay- 23 ment through an electronic transfer application 24 that can be used on mobile devices to receive 25 payments; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6496.IH H6496 lotter on DSK9F5VC42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6496 IH (B) ensure that payments under this sec- 1 tion are made to those without fixed addresses. 2 (b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 3 section— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible indi- 5 vidual’’ means any individual— 6 (A) who— 7 (i) is a citizen or resident of the 8 United States; or 9 (ii) is described in paragraph (4); 10 (B) who, as of January 1, 2020, has at- 11 tained the age of 16; and 12 (C) whose adjusted gross income either— 13 (i) does not exceed the threshold 14 amount for the taxable year beginning in 15 2019; or 16 (ii) would not exceed the threshold 17 amount for the first taxable year beginning 18 in 2020, determined on the basis of 2 con- 19 secutive months of such taxable year and 20 annualized. 21 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR MARRIED INDIVID- 22 UALS.—In the case of any individual who filed a 23 joint return for the taxable year beginning in 2019, 24 the individual and the spouse of the individual shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6496.IH H6496 lotter on DSK9F5VC42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6496 IH be treated as one person if either the individual or 1 the spouse of the individual meets the requirements 2 specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph 3 (1). 4 (3) CERTAIN DEPENDENTS.—The term ‘‘eligible 5 individual’’ does not include any dependent (as de- 6 fined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 7 1986) who, as of December 31, 2019, has not at- 8 tained the age of 16 and with respect to whom a de- 9 duction under section 151(c) of such Code is allow- 10 able to another individual for the taxable year begin- 11 ning in 2019. 12 (4) SPECIAL RULE FOR INDIVIDUALS IN THE 13 UNITED STATES CONTINUOUSLY SINCE THE DEC- 14 LARATION OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—An individual is de- 16 scribed in this paragraph if the individual— 17 (i) is not a citizen or resident of the 18 United States; and 19 (ii) has been physically present in the 20 United States continuously since January 21 27, 2020 (the effective date of the public 22 health emergency declared pursuant to sec- 23 tion 319 of the Public Health Service Act 24 (42 U.S.C. 247d) resulting from the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6496.IH H6496 lotter on DSK9F5VC42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6496 IH COVID–19 pandemic), and continues to be 1 physically present in the United States 2 throughout the duration of the payment 3 period. 4 (B) BREAK IN PRESENCE.—For purposes 5 of subparagraph (A)(ii), an individual shall be 6 considered to have failed to maintain contin- 7 uous physical presence in the United States if 8 the individual has departed from the United 9 States for any period exceeding 90 days or for 10 any periods, in the aggregate, exceeding 180 11 days. 12 (5) CONSULTATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL AND 13 STATE AGENCIES.—For purposes of identifying and 14 making payments under this section to all eligible 15 individuals for whom the Secretary does not have 16 sufficient tax return information to make such pay- 17 ments, the Secretary shall consult with— 18 (A) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and 19 the Commissioner of Social Security; and 20 (B) any agency making payments of pen- 21 sion or annuity to individuals for service per- 22 formed in the employ of the United States or 23 any State, political subdivision of a State, or 24 any instrumentality thereof, which is not con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6496.IH H6496 lotter on DSK9F5VC42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6496 IH sidered employment for purposes of chapter 21 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 2 (c) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of each pay- 4 ment under subsection (a) shall be— 5 (A) except as provided in subparagraph 6 (B), $2,000 in the case of an individual de- 7 scribed in subsection (b)(1); and 8 (B) $4,000, made jointly, in the case of 9 two individuals filing a joint return for a tax- 10 able year beginning in 2019. 11 (2) ADDITIONAL AMOUNT FOR DEPENDENTS.— 12 (A) ONE CHILD.—If a deduction is allowed 13 for one or more dependents on the return for 14 the taxable year beginning in 2019, the amount 15 in paragraph (1) shall be increased by $500 in 16 the case of a return for which one deduction is 17 allowed under section 151(c) of the Internal 18 Revenue Code of 1986. 19 (B) THREE OR MORE CHILDREN.—In the 20 case of deductions allowed for three or more de- 21 pendents on the return for the taxable year be- 22 ginning in 2019, subparagraph (A) shall be ap- 23 plied by substituting ‘‘$1,500’’ for ‘‘$500’’. 24 (3) PHASEOUT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6496.IH H6496 lotter on DSK9F5VC42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6496 IH (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a pay- 1 ment specified in paragraph (1) shall be re- 2 duced (but not below zero) by 5 percentage 3 points for each $1,000 (or fraction thereof) by 4 which the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income ex- 5 ceeds the threshold amount. 6 (B) THRESHOLD AMOUNT.—For purposes 7 of subparagraph (A), the term ‘‘threshold 8 amount’’ means— 9 (i) $130,000 in the case of an indi- 10 vidual who filed a separate return for the 11 taxable year beginning in 2019; and 12 (ii) $260,000 in the case of the indi- 13 viduals treated as one person under sub- 14 section (c)(2) who filed a joint return for 15 the taxable year beginning in 2019. 16 (d) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO AVAILABLE IN- 17 FORMATION.— 18 (1) USE OF RETURN INFORMATION FOR 2018 19 RETURNS.—For purposes of making determinations 20 under this section with respect to any individual, if 21 return information of such individual is not available 22 for the taxable year beginning in 2019, the Sec- 23 retary shall use return information (if any) for the 24 taxable year 2018 instead. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6496.IH H6496 lotter on DSK9F5VC42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6496 IH (2) INDIVIDUALS FOR WHOM INFORMATION NOT 1 AVAILABLE.—In the case of any individual for whom 2 return information is not available from the Internal 3 Revenue Service and the Secretary determines that 4 sufficient information is not available from the So- 5 cial Security Administration or the Department of 6 Veterans Affairs, the Secretary shall provide for an 7 application process for individuals to receive pay- 8 ments under this section. Such application shall be 9 in such form and filed in such manner as the Sec- 10 retary may require. For purposes of carrying out 11 this section, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 12 work in cooperation with the Secretary of Veterans 13 Affairs and the Commissioner of Social Security. 14 (e) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec- 15 tion— 16 (1) CITIZEN OR RESIDENT.—The term ‘‘citizen 17 or resident of the United States’’ means a citizen or 18 resident (as such terms are used in section 19 7701(a)(30)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 20 1986) of the United States. 21 (2) UNITED STATES DEFINED.—The term 22 ‘‘United States’’ means the several States, the Dis- 23 trict of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6496.IH H6496 lotter on DSK9F5VC42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6496 IH Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 1 Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. 2 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 3 the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s del- 4 egate. 5 (4) OTHER TERMS.—Except as otherwise pro- 6 vided in this section, any term used in this section 7 which is used in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 8 shall have the meaning as used in the Internal Rev- 9 enue Code of 1986. 10 (f) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this section— 11 (1) INCOME EXCLUSION.—Payments under this 12 section shall not be includible in gross income for 13 purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 14 (2) EXCLUDED FROM GROSS ESTATE.—Pay- 15 ments under this section shall not be includible in 16 the gross estate of any individual for purposes of 17 chapter 11 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 18 (3) TOLL-FREE HOTLINE TELEPHONE NUM- 19 BER.—The Secretary shall provide a 24 hour toll- 20 free hotline telephone number for any individual to 21 apply for payments, and make inquiries regarding 22 the payment deliveries, under this section. 23 (4) PAYMENTS DISREGARDED IN THE ADMINIS- 24 TRATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND FEDERALLY 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6496.IH H6496 lotter on DSK9F5VC42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6496 IH ASSISTED PROGRAMS.—Notwithstanding any other 1 provision of law, any payment made to any indi- 2 vidual under this section shall not be taken into ac- 3 count as income or income maintenance, and shall 4 not be taken into account as resources for a period 5 of 12 months from receipt, for purposes of deter- 6 mining the eligibility of such individual (or any other 7 individual) for benefits or assistance (or the amount 8 or extent of benefits or assistance) under any Fed- 9 eral program or under any State or local program fi- 10 nanced in whole or in part with Federal funds. 11 (g) REGULATIONS OR OTHER GUIDANCE.—The Sec- 12 retary shall issue such regulations or other guidance as 13 may be necessary or appropriate to carry out this section, 14 including regulations or guidance to— 15 (1) address changes in marital status, births, 16 and deaths; 17 (2) use the most current information available; 18 and 19 (3) provide for proper adjustments in payments, 20 and recapture of payments, to correct under and 21 over payments. 22 (h) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are hereby appro- 23 priated from money in the Treasury not otherwise appro- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6496.IH H6496 lotter on DSK9F5VC42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6496 IH priated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 1 section. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6496.IH H6496 lotter on DSK9F5VC42PROD with BILLS