On March 21, 2020, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D.-Mich.) introduced a preliminary version of the Automatic BOOST to Communities Act (#ABCAct) to provide emergency relief to every person in America, as part of a broader response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 16, 2020, Rep. Tlaib introduced an updated and complete legislative version of the #ABCAct.
The bill was co-introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D.-Wash.), and cosponsored by Rep. Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D.-Ill.), Rep. Alcee Hastings (D.-Flor.), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.-D.C.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D.-N.Y.), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D.-Minn.), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D.-M.A.), Rep. Bobby Rush (D.-Ill.), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D.-Ill.), and Nydia Velázquez (D.-N.Y.).
The #ABCAct is a “money-financed fiscal program,” which means no additional public debt would be issued to pay for it.
Instead, the #ABCAct is funded directly by the Treasury, using its legal authority to mint and issue high value (i.e. $1 trillion) platinum coins under 31 U.S.C. § 5112(k) of the Coinage Act, which is a statutory delegation of Congress’s constitutional power to coin money:
This site is a hub for information and resources about this funding mechanism, also known as #MintTheCoin, or #MTFC.The [Treasury] Secretary may mint and issue...platinum coins in accordance with such...quantities [and] denominations...as the Secretary, in the Secretary's discretion, may prescribe from time to time.
For information about other elements of the #ABCAct, see the full legislative text and accompanying press release.