Moore pushes for monthly payments to low income 'unpaid workers'

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee-area Rep. Gwen Moore, (D-WI), said there are too many Wisconsinites caring for family members that can't afford the time or resources.

"The pandemic has demonstrated to us, it has shown us in plain black and white that we need bold policies to tackle our poverty crisis," Moore said. "To invest in our care economy."

Moore wants to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to allow single tax filers making less than $30,000 a year to receive up to $4,000 a year in tax credits. The program would also make those credits refundable, and able to be sent in monthly payments. Married couples making less than $50,000 a year would be eligible for $8,000 in payments.

The bill is called the "Worker Relief and Credit Reform Act."

"Most American families don't even have $400 in the bank to take care of an emergency car repair," Economic Security Project Campaigns Advisor Sachin Chheda said. "We want to lift people up not just over the poverty line, but into dignity."

RNC spokesperson Preya Samsundar said, “Instead of working to give Wisconsinites a hand up out of poverty, Democrats like Gwen Moore are too busy looking to give them handouts. Moore and the Biden administration are stifling our nation’s economic recovery and harming small businesses who are struggling to find workers.”

The program also aims to provide payments and tax relief to students.

"Pursuing a higher education is work, and we should make sure that students have the resources to succeed," MATC FAST coordinator, Liz Franczyk, said.