Dingell ‘very concerned’ about lowering threshold for stimulus

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) said on Sunday that she was “very concerned” about the income limit to receive a stimulus payment potentially being lowered.

Appearing on CNN’s “Inside Politics,” Dingell told host Abby Phillips that she agreed with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and his concerns regarding potential concessions in the coronavirus relief bill.

{mosads}“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 tweeted last night. “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.”

“You know, he is right and I’m very concerned about — we don’t know the details, again, people are still speculating,” Dingell said.

“But the fact of the matter is I have people that work at the University of Michigan that have been lab assistants whose income was much higher a year ago and they’re making zero now, and yet it’s based on a taxable level. We need to figure out how we are really helping those that need help,” Dingell added.

Congress is mulling tightening eligibility requirements for the $1,400 direct payment checks and the White House said President Biden is open to negotiating those requirements but Democrats haven’t come to an agreement on what, if any, changes should be made.

Dingell also said Sunday she would be “one of the loudest screamers” when it came to raising the minimum wage.

Progressive lawmakers have pushed for the federal minimum wage to be increased to $15 an hour as part of Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill. Biden said on Friday that he does not expect the pay raise to make it as part of the bill, though he said he would push for it in a separate piece of legislation.

“The fact of the matter is if you look at who has kept us together these last almost a year now since COVID hit, it’s people we haven’t thought were worth paying $15 an hour,” Dingell said. “We need to pay people what their worth is and their worth in this society means they should be paying a minimum wage that keeps them below the poverty line — above the poverty line. Above.”