5 Forms of Stimulus That Americans Can Expect If Harris Wins the Election
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Ashley Barnett
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Much like her current boss, Vice President Kamala Harris aims to provide plenty of financial help to needy U.S. families should she win the 2024 presidential election. Harris has been a strong backer of President Joe Biden’s economic proposals, including those that never made it into law.
Biden was instrumental in passing stimulus legislation during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the American Rescue Plan, which provided $1,400 in stimulus checks for eligible Americans. While those kinds of pandemic-era programs have largely fallen by the wayside, Harris still backs legislation that would give many citizens an economic boost — either directly or indirectly.
Here are five forms of stimulus you can likely expect if Harris wins the election.
Child Tax Credit
Harris supported the expansion of the federal Child Tax Credit (CTC), which provided up to $3,600 per child under the age of six and $3,000 for children ages six to 17. As president, she likely would continue to pursue these kinds of policies, which are designed to help both poor Americans and middle-class families.
Part of Harris’ economic plan includes at least restoring the CTC back to its 2021 levels, CNET reported. She also said she will push to “substantially increase” the credit to $6,000 for newborn children less than a year old for middle- and low-income families.
“We will provide $6,000 in tax relief to families during the first year of a child’s life,” Harris said during a speech in North Carolina rolling out her economic agenda.
Additional Tax Credits
As a presidential candidate leading up to the 2024 election, Harris proposed replacing the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed by ex-President Donald Trump with a monthly refundable tax credit worth up to $500 for people earning less than $100,000 a year. The policy, known as the LIFT the Middle-Class Act, aimed to help offset high living costs by providing middle-class and working families with money to help pay for everyday expenses.
Housing
Harris has called for the construction of 3 million new housing units over four years as a way of easing a “serious housing shortage in America,” PBS reported. She also backs the following:
- Legislation to create a new series of tax incentives for builders who construct starter homes sold to first-time homebuyers.
- A $40 billion “innovation fund” for businesses building affordable rental housing units.
- Expansion of a Biden administration plan to provide $25,000 in potential down payment assistance to help certain renters buy a home.
Student Loan Relief
Another one of Harris’s proposals as a presidential candidate was a student-debt forgiveness plan that was part of a broader initiative to invest in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Black entrepreneurs. Under that plan, Pell Grant recipients would have up to $20,000 of their student loans forgiven if they started a business in a disadvantaged community and operated it for at least three years.
As VP, Harris endorsed Biden’s proposal to cancel up to $20,000 of federal student loans per borrower. That plan was eventually shot down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Healthcare
Harris previously supported a government-run “Medicare for all” program that would provide healthcare for everyone, The New York Times reported. She later changed that position to focus on strengthening the Affordable Care Act. Her campaign suggested she would “preserve temporary increases” in subsidies for private plans, according to the NYT. She also backs the latest White House budget that seeks new aid for residents in the ten states where Republicans declined to expand Medicaid.
Editor’s note on election coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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