By Leada Gore
al.com
(TNS)
A new bill introduced in Congress would provide direct payments of $3,000 to millions of Americans. The payments would be funded through an extra tax on some of the country’s wealthiest people.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act on Tuesday. The bill would establish a 5% annual wealth tax on the 938 billionaires in America. That group, according to a press release from the lawmakers, are worth a collective $8.2 trillion.
“At a time of unprecedented income and wealth inequality, this legislation demands that the billionaire class in America finally pay their fair share of taxes so that we can create an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1%,” Sanders said in a statement. “In a democratic society, we cannot tolerate 60% of our people living paycheck to paycheck—struggling to pay for housing, food and health care—while 938 billionaires have become $1.5 trillion richer.”
In its first year, the bill would provide $3,000 direct payment to every person in a household with an income of $150,000 or less—or $12,000 for a family of four.
“We have a deep economic divide in this country. On one side, places like Silicon Valley are generating extreme wealth. On the other side, families are struggling to cover the cost of health care, housing, and basic needs,” Khanna said. “We can tax billionaires a modest amount to make sure everyone has a fair chance while keeping our innovative engine.”
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The tax would raise some $4.4 trillion, lawmakers said. In addition to the direct payments, the money would be used to reverse $1.1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act included in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and expand Medicare to cover dental, vision and hearing for millions of seniors.
Other money would go toward building affordable housing, capping childcare expenses at 7% of household income and establishing a $60,000 minimum annual salary for public school teachers.
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©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit al.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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