Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

NEW!

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

By Member | By Date | Keyword Search

Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2019 - 2020 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted:	March 30, 2020 01:34 PM
From:	Senator Judith L. Schwank
To:	All Senate members
Subject:	Exempting CARES Act payments from certain income definitions

In the near future I plan on introducing a bill that would exempt money received by individuals from the CARES Act from certain definitions of “income.”   As we all know, Americans who pay taxes will receive a one-time direct deposit of up to $1,200, and married couples will receive $2,400, plus an additional $500 per child. The payments will be available for incomes up to $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for married couples. I applaud the action by Congress last week to give individuals making under $99,000 a onetime cash payment.  However, with this payment individuals, particular seniors, who rely on a variety of state programs that include a verification of income could lose these benefits when their income is re-certified.   My legislation would exempt any payment received by an individual under the CARES Act from the definition of “income” in the programs such as: property tax/rent rebate, PACE/PACENET, childcare subsidies, medical assistance and CHIP.   These payments should not be the tipping scale between receiving a benefit or losing a benefit and as such I hope you will join me in excluding these payments from the definition of “income.”   Please join me in sponsoring this legislation.

---