If, like me, you support providing people with a cash supplement financed by higher taxes on those with higher incomes, please let your congressional representative—and candidates for Congress—know.
I recently discovered that there is a bill in the US House that calls for a universal income supplement. The BOOST Act of 2025 (H.R. 6236), introduced by Representative Rashida Tlaib, would provide $250 per month to most adults ages 19 through 67. The payments would not be taxable or counted in determining eligibility for programs such as SNAP or housing assistance. The bill would help finance the payments through an additional tax on higher incomes.
The BOOST act would be a modest but important step toward basic income. It would establish the principle that regular, broadly distributed cash payments can provide greater economic security—and that the benefits of our economy should be more widely shared.
The bill is designed as a “refundable tax credit” so that everyone gets the payment even if they have no income. The income tax used to (partially) fund the program starts to exceed the benefit at around $150,000 of taxable income. In short, it is like the negative income tax proposed by Nixon that actually passed the House in 1970.
You can read Representative Tlaib’s summary of the BOOST Act here
There are 11 cosponsors of the bill, including
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)
Summer Lee (D-PA)
Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
Shri Thanedar (D-MI)
Ro Khanna (D-CA)
Kweisi Mfume (D-MD)
LaMonica McIver (D-NJ)
Troy Carter (D-LA)
Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ)
No other Representatives are publicly on record as supporting the bill as far as I can tell. Let your Congress person know you support the it! Bills are never perfect but are subject to considerable revision during the legislative process, and this one is an excellent starting point.
You can find your representative and contact information here.
Ask your representative to cosponsor and support H.R. 6236, and let them know that you support basic income. Whatever form of basic income you ultimately favor, building visible support for concrete legislation is how we begin moving the idea forward.
No companion bill exists in the Senate, but Kamala Harris, without cosponsors, introduced the LIFT the Middle Class Act (S.3712 in 2018 and S.4 in 2019) which was quite similar in content.
You might contact your Senator to let them know you support unconditional income support legislation in the era of AI! That would include progressives like Bernie and Warren. Income transfers are much easier to implement than wealth taxes or complex AI equity deals. And far more effective.
If you do contact your representative or Senator, please send me an email at rich@sharesinamerica.com. And if you receive a response, leave a comment with what they said! Comments in general are much appreciated.