[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6496 Introduced in House (IH)]
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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. Velazquez, 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 Committee 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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Money for the People
Act''.
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY PAYMENTS.
(a) General Rule.--
(1) Directive to make payments.--The Secretary of the
Treasury shall make a payment in each month of the payment
period to each eligible individual.
(2) Beginning date.--Payments for the first of such months
shall be distributed within 14 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(3) Payment period.--The term ``payment period'' means the
12-month period beginning with the first month in which the
Secretary makes a payment under paragraph (1), unless as of the
end of the sixth month of such period the employment-to-
population ratio for people ages 16 and over is greater than 60
percent.
(4) Form and manner of payments.--Payments under paragraph
(1) shall be made in such form and manner as the Secretary
shall provide, except that the Secretary shall--
(A) offer the option of receiving payments under
this section by direct deposit, check, pre-paid debit
card, or electronic transfer of payment through an
electronic transfer application that can be used on
mobile devices to receive payments; and
(B) ensure that payments under this section are
made to those without fixed addresses.
(b) Eligible Individual.--For purposes of this section--
(1) In general.--The term ``eligible individual'' means any
individual--
(A) who--
(i) is a citizen or resident of the United
States; or
(ii) is described in paragraph (4);
(B) who, as of January 1, 2020, has attained the
age of 16; and
(C) whose adjusted gross income either--
(i) does not exceed the threshold amount
for the taxable year beginning in 2019; or
(ii) would not exceed the threshold amount
for the first taxable year beginning in 2020,
determined on the basis of 2 consecutive months
of such taxable year and annualized.
(2) Special rule for married individuals.--In the case of
any individual who filed a joint return for the taxable year
beginning in 2019, the individual and the spouse of the
individual shall be treated as one person if either the
individual or the spouse of the individual meets the
requirements specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
paragraph (1).
(3) Certain dependents.--The term ``eligible individual''
does not include any dependent (as defined in section 152 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) who, as of December 31,
2019, has not attained the age of 16 and with respect to whom a
deduction under section 151(c) of such Code is allowable to
another individual for the taxable year beginning in 2019.
(4) Special rule for individuals in the united states
continuously since the declaration of national emergency.--
(A) In general.--An individual is described in this
paragraph if the individual--
(i) is not a citizen or resident of the
United States; and
(ii) has been physically present in the
United States continuously since January 27,
2020 (the effective date of the public health
emergency declared pursuant to section 319 of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d)
resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic), and
continues to be physically present in the
United States throughout the duration of the
payment period.
(B) Break in presence.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A)(ii), an individual shall be considered
to have failed to maintain continuous physical presence
in the United States if the individual has departed
from the United States for any period exceeding 90 days
or for any periods, in the aggregate, exceeding 180
days.
(5) Consultation with other federal and state agencies.--
For purposes of identifying and making payments under this
section to all eligible individuals for whom the Secretary does
not have sufficient tax return information to make such
payments, the Secretary shall consult with--
(A) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the
Commissioner of Social Security; and
(B) any agency making payments of pension or
annuity to individuals for service performed in the
employ of the United States or any State, political
subdivision of a State, or any instrumentality thereof,
which is not considered employment for purposes of
chapter 21 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(c) Amount of Payment.--
(1) In general.--The amount of each payment under
subsection (a) shall be--
(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), $2,000
in the case of an individual described in subsection
(b)(1); and
(B) $4,000, made jointly, in the case of two
individuals filing a joint return for a taxable year
beginning in 2019.
(2) Additional amount for dependents.--
(A) One child.--If a deduction is allowed for one
or more dependents on the return for the taxable year
beginning in 2019, the amount in paragraph (1) shall be
increased by $500 in the case of a return for which one
deduction is allowed under section 151(c) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(B) Three or more children.--In the case of
deductions allowed for three or more dependents on the
return for the taxable year beginning in 2019,
subparagraph (A) shall be applied by substituting
``$1,500'' for ``$500''.
(3) Phaseout.--
(A) In general.--The amount of a payment specified
in paragraph (1) shall be reduced (but not below zero)
by 5 percentage points for each $1,000 (or fraction
thereof) by which the taxpayer's adjusted gross income
exceeds the threshold amount.
(B) Threshold amount.--For purposes of subparagraph
(A), the term ``threshold amount'' means--
(i) $130,000 in the case of an individual
who filed a separate return for the taxable
year beginning in 2019; and
(ii) $260,000 in the case of the
individuals treated as one person under
subsection (c)(2) who filed a joint return for
the taxable year beginning in 2019.
(d) Special Rules Relating to Available Information.--
(1) Use of return information for 2018 returns.--For
purposes of making determinations under this section with
respect to any individual, if return information of such
individual is not available for the taxable year beginning in
2019, the Secretary shall use return information (if any) for
the taxable year 2018 instead.
(2) Individuals for whom information not available.--In the
case of any individual for whom return information is not
available from the Internal Revenue Service and the Secretary
determines that sufficient information is not available from
the Social Security Administration or the Department of
Veterans Affairs, the Secretary shall provide for an
application process for individuals to receive payments under
this section. Such application shall be in such form and filed
in such manner as the Secretary may require. For purposes of
carrying out this section, the Secretary of the Treasury shall
work in cooperation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and
the Commissioner of Social Security.
(e) Other Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
(1) Citizen or resident.--The term ``citizen or resident of
the United States'' means a citizen or resident (as such terms
are used in section 7701(a)(30)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986) of the United States.
(2) United states defined.--The term ``United States''
means the several States, the District of Columbia, American
Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Treasury or the Secretary's delegate.
(4) Other terms.--Except as otherwise provided in this
section, any term used in this section which is used in the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall have the meaning as used in
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(f) Special Rules.--For purposes of this section--
(1) Income exclusion.--Payments under this section shall
not be includible in gross income for purposes of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986.
(2) Excluded from gross estate.--Payments under this
section shall not be includible in the gross estate of any
individual for purposes of chapter 11 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986.
(3) Toll-free hotline telephone number.--The Secretary
shall provide a 24 hour toll-free hotline telephone number for
any individual to apply for payments, and make inquiries
regarding the payment deliveries, under this section.
(4) Payments disregarded in the administration of federal
programs and federally assisted programs.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, any payment made to any individual
under this section shall not be taken into account as income or
income maintenance, and shall not be taken into account as
resources for a period of 12 months from receipt, for purposes
of determining the eligibility of such individual (or any other
individual) for benefits or assistance (or the amount or extent
of benefits or assistance) under any Federal program or under
any State or local program financed in whole or in part with
Federal funds.
(g) Regulations or Other Guidance.--The Secretary shall issue such
regulations or other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to
carry out this section, including regulations or guidance to--
(1) address changes in marital status, births, and deaths;
(2) use the most current information available; and
(3) provide for proper adjustments in payments, and
recapture of payments, to correct under and over payments.
(h) Appropriations.--There are hereby appropriated from money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated such sums as may be necessary
to carry out this section.
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