US legislators have once again proposed the concept of a "digital dollar" to provide taxpayers with incentive payments to contain the economic downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Congressmen Rashida Tlaib and Pramila Jayapal presented a new "Mint the coin" proposal to the federal government.
The Automatic BOOST to Communities (ABC) bill provides for immediate payment of $2,000 using BOOST debit cards to every U.S. citizen as assistance during the COVID-19 crisis. It is further proposed that $1,000 be paid monthly within one year of the end of the crisis to help the country recover.
The ABC offer will be funded by the U.S. Treasury Department with no additional debt, through the issuance of two lots of $1 trillion coins and additional coins as needed. The ABC bill also revives the idea of the "digital dollar", presented last month.
According to the bill, the U.S. Congress will authorize the Federal Reserve to create FedAccounts - "US dollar account wallets", which would allow U.S. residents, citizens and businesses located in the country to access financial services.
"No later than January 1, 2021 the Secretary will offer all BOOST payment recipients the opportunity to receive money for a digital dollar wallet," the bill says.
The ABC was proposed in connection with the current problems with the issuance of incentive payments of $1,200, allowed under the CARES Act. The IRS sent payments to taxpayers, but failures prevented many people from getting their money, or even confirmation of payment status.
However, the bill presented this week goes beyond incentive payments. The document notes that FedAccount holders must have access to a number of other services, including "debit cards, access to online accounts, automatic bill payment, mobile banking and ATMs located in U.S. Postal Service offices.
The bill was also supported by Congressmen Jesús García, Alcee Hastings and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Bobby Rush, Jan Schakowsky and Nydia Velázquez.
Vanderbilt University associate professor Morgan Ricks, who contributed to the initial digital dollar proposals, said he and his colleagues have been "giving staff-level advice" to the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate over the past few weeks.
"It's nice to see the legislative attention to this concept. We think it's a revolutionary idea," he said.
A reminder that in March, members of the U.S. House of Representatives from the Democratic Party presented a bill describing the issue of the "digital dollar". However, almost immediately the digital dollar was excluded from the latest version of the bill aimed at stimulating the U.S. economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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