Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, is proposing $2,000 payments to Americans making under $100,000, arguing that the move would offset some of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which he says have “jacked up prices.”
Newsweek has reached out to Khanna’s press team for comment via email on Thursday.
Why It Matters
Since taking office earlier this year, Trump has repeatedly announced, imposed, paused and reinstated a slew of tariffs at varying rates on U.S. trading partners to curb illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and reduce trade deficits. The president’s various tariffs have also caused the stock market to both slump and spike.
Consumer prices rose 2.7 percent in July from a year ago, above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 3.1 percent.
Earlier this year, Trump floated the idea of a rebate for Americans due to “so much money coming in” from tariffs the United States has imposed on other countries.
What to Know
In a video posted to Khanna’s social media accounts, the congressman announced that he is proposing the bill because tariffs are an “unfair tax on Americans,” adding that “it has meant that all of us have higher prices for our groceries, higher prices for our housing, [and] higher cost-of-living.”
He added, that because of this, “we should take this tariff revenue that has been an unfair tax and give it back to working families so that they an pay the bills.”
Khanna has previously backed providing stimulus checks to Americans, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other members of Congress have floated similar ideas, including Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, who introduced the American Worker Rebate Act in July. His proposal, which has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance, included a $600 rebate check per American.
Customs duties collected under Trump’s tariff policies have surged in 2025, generating historic revenue for the U.S. Treasury. As of late July, collections totaled a record $150 billion for the year, including a July haul of nearly $28 billion—a monthly high for this year.
Fiscal year‑to‑date customs duty revenue has reached $108 billion, marking a nearly 95 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said customs duty revenues could exceed $500 billion annually and approach $1 trillion as collections continue to climb.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump told reporters in August: “We have a lot of money coming in. It’s coming in tremendous numbers. There’s a concept of making a dividend to the people of this country who have paid a lot of taxes and got nothing for it.”
Senator Josh Hawley said in a late-July press release: “Americans deserve a tax rebate after four years of Biden policies that have devastated families’ savings and livelihoods. Like President Trump proposed, my legislation would allow hard-working Americans to benefit from the wealth that Trump’s tariffs are returning to this country.”
A senior Department of Homeland Security official said in a June press release: “We are proud to help President Trump make America richer and reverse a broken trade system that resulted in millions of jobs shipped overseas and made us dependent on foreign adversaries for essential goods. This administration will always put the American first.”
What Happens Next?
Once the legislation is introduced it will be assigned to a committee, and if released, it would then be put forward for a vote.
