AOC and Sanders tear up Biden’s COVID back-up plan for tiny pacing checks

Sen. Bernie Sanders issued a warning on Sunday on lowering the threshold for Americans to receive coronavirus relief checks, saying he agreed with a threshold for high earners but not for workers in the working class earning $ 50,000 a year.

President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan calls for 1,400 checks to be sent to eligible Americans, but some Democrats and Republicans have floated the idea of ​​setting limits on who receives payments.

Biden said he would be receptive to it.

Instead of a limit of $ 75,000 for individuals, they are considering reducing it to $ 50,000 – for couples, it would drop from $ 150,000 to $ 100,000.

Sanders, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said lawmakers need to “do the right thing” from a political standpoint.

“It is absurd to tell working class people, someone who has decent union work – they make $ 55,000, $ 60,000 – sorry, you don’t qualify for the program. It doesn’t make sense to me or the American people, ”Sanders (I-Vt.) Said on CNN’s“ State of the Union ”.

But he said he agreed with a phase-out of $ 300,000 for checks.

“When people say we don’t want the rich to get this advantage, I understand that. I agree. And what we need to do is have a strong cliff face so that it doesn’t affect the people who make $ 300,000. And that’s what I support. And that’s what I think most people understand, ”Sanders said.

Her progressive colleague in the House, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also slammed the thresholds and said people should get $ 2,000 stimulus checks.

“Just help the people!” She said.