#Chuck Schumer unveils $350B bill intended to combat ‘systemic racism’

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday unveiled a $350 billion plan he said was intended to combat “systemic racism” as lawmakers return to negotiate a new coronavirus bill.

The New York Democrat’s “Economic Justice Act” contains wide-ranging infrastructure and social spending and would redirect $200 billion in unused funds from a Treasury Department coronavirus loan program established by Congress in March.

“Instead of allowing hundreds of billions of dollars in government assistance to sit idly at the Treasury, Senate Democrats said they would seek to re-program these dollars during negotiations for a fourth COVID-19 bill,” Schumer’s office said.

The provisions aren’t for the exclusive benefit of racial minorities and could land in the new pandemic bill, which is likely to follow lengthy negotiations beginning next week between Democrats, the White House and Senate Republicans.

Some elements, such as increased funding for high-speed internet infrastructure, had Republican support during past coronavirus bill negotiations.

The Democratic bill follows large anti-racism protests last month over the killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police — and a subsequent deadlock on police reform, with Democrats blocking a Senate GOP plan they call threadbare and Republicans blocking a Democratic measure they say goes too far.

“Our new plan would make a historic federal commitment to communities of color through ten major investments over the next five years,” Schumer’s office said in a press release. “Senate Democrats said this was an important down-payment to answer the calls to address systemic racism and historic underinvestment in communities of color.”

Among the provisions are $115 billion for infrastructure including housing, internet and “environmental justice” efforts.

There’s a $50 billion proposal to “stabilize child care providers in communities, including communities of color.”

The bill offers a $15,000 tax credit to offset the cost of home down payments — to help close a near 30 percentage point gap in homeownership between blacks and whites.

Another $25 billion would go toward matching people with “in-demand jobs, like new contact tracing and immunization hiring programs and federal job training programs,” according to a fact sheet.

“Community-based” health programs would get $40 billion and Medicaid programs another $30 billion. The bill has $17 billion in “capital support” for small businesses, and $30 billion to reduce the share of poor people’s housing costs to 30 percent.

It also proposed steering more federal development funds to areas with “persistent” high poverty.

Schumer’s office said that the ideas are “in addition to” a $3 trillion coronavirus bill passed by the House in May, which Republicans repudiated as a Democratic wishlist including bailouts for states and rent and mortgage assistance programs.