HB 29-04: COVID Is No Match for Bribes Act (Passed)

[Dr. MB]

AN ACT
to fight the pandemic with bribes
Be it enacted by both houses of Congress assembled:

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "COVID Is No Match for Bribes Act." It may be cited as the "COVID Bribes Act."

Section 2 (Bribes)
i. Any taxpayer aged sixteen (16) years or older shall be eligible to take a one-time refundable credit of $1,000 who can provide proof of vaccination for novel coronavirus (COVID-19).  Taxpayers shall also be eligible to take a one-time refundable credit of the same value for all dependents aged sixteen (16) years or older for whom such proof can be provided.
(a) Only persons having received the first dose of a vaccine for COVID-19 approved by the Center for Disease Control on or before April 15, 2021 shall be eligible for this credit.

Designation: HB 29-04
Sponsor: Razze

[KaiserDave]

This seems like a lot of money to hand out. Skeptical.

[Harvey Updyke Jr🌹]

Surely we can get our population vaccinated without giving them a grand?

[Dr. MB]

I’m fully behind this. If people won’t get the vaccine what better way to motivate them than free money. This can also function beyond that as a tax break for people which is still desperately needed during the time of the pandemic.

[lfromnj]

I would support this being $100 instead of $1000.

[Joseph Cao]

An… interesting idea.

I'm all for motivating antivaxxers to get the shot, but "the government is bribing people" talks quite a bit louder than $100 or $1000 or whatever the dollar amount becomes.

[lfromnj]

AN ACT
to fight the pandemic with bribes
Be it enacted by both houses of Congress assembled:

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "COVID Is No Match for Bribes Act." It may be cited as the "COVID Bribes Act."

Section 2 (Bribes)
i. Any taxpayer aged sixteen (16) years or older shall be eligible to take a one-time refundable credit of $100 who can provide proof of vaccination for novel coronavirus (COVID-19).  Taxpayers shall also be eligible to take a one-time refundable credit of the same value for all dependents aged sixteen (16) years or older for whom such proof can be provided.
(a) Only persons having received the first dose of a vaccine for COVID-19 approved by the Center for Disease Control on or before April 15, 2021 shall be eligible for this credit.

Designation: HB 29-04
Sponsor: Razze

Amendment proposal

[Pericles]

I think this would be very expensive if we did it at the moment, and function almost as a regular stimulus since most people don't have access to the vaccine yet. If we delay when people can receive the payment though, this could create a perverse incentive for people to delay their vaccinations. While a monetary incentive in the form of a tax has authoritarian vibes and could be unfair to poor and vulnerable communities that are legitimately struggling to access the vaccine. Perhaps it could be some kind of lottery where a small portion of people who get the vaccine get a bribe, this could be a good monetary incentive without costing us so much. I'm also not sure how much of a public communications campaign we have to persuade people to get the vaccine.

[Dr. MB]

Objecting to Lfromnj’s amendment.

An amendment vote has now began. Representatives have 72 hours to vote aye, nay, or abstain.

[Dr. MB]

Nay

[Saint Milei]

aye

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Nay.

 If the majority of Congress doesn't want to see the number at $1,000, maybe we can defeat this amendment and instead lower it to a more acceptable number. $100 however is far too low.

[Sirius_]

Abstain

[lfromnj]

Aye

[Continential]

Abstain

[KaiserDave]

Abstain

[Joseph Cao]

As I said earlier, I'm less focused on the precise dollar amount than on whether there are better ways to accomplish this. I'll abstain for that reason. Peri's idea of a lottery is interesting and could be worth looking into.

I'm also not sure how much of a public communications campaign we have to persuade people to get the vaccine.

I obviously do not know if this is canon, but if DefeatCoronavirus is at all similar to RL government-supported mobile apps with similar tracking functions, then it should currently be hosting a campaign encouraging people to get vaccinated. Might be a clarification worth touching the GM's ear on.

[Harvey Updyke Jr🌹]

Nay

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Alright, I'm the official sponsor of this so I would like to hear some debate on the cash amount. I think $750 could work out just fine.

[Dr. MB]

Aye - Deadprez, Lfromnj
Nay - MB, Razze, Harvey
Abstain - Ninja, Ishan, KaiserDave, Cao

Amendment fails, 2-3-4.

[Dr. MB]

Does anyone have anything else to add here?

[Dr. MB]

Motion for a final vote. 24 hours to object.

[Joseph Cao]

Objection to the motion.

The sponsor has indicated his preference for further debate on the cash issue. While I naturally will leave that up to him, I did have a proposal based on an earlier suggestion from Pericles in the works and would like to see what the House thinks of it (I originally planned to introduce it after the debate on the cash amount, not that that happened or we wouldn't have this motion to deal with). It'll need a bit of work though so there may be a couple days' delay on that.

[Dr. MB]

Objection to the motion.

The sponsor has indicated his preference for further debate on the cash issue. While I naturally will leave that up to him, I did have a proposal based on an earlier suggestion from Pericles in the works and would like to see what the House thinks of it (I originally planned to introduce it after the debate on the cash amount, not that that happened or we wouldn't have this motion to deal with). It'll need a bit of work though so there may be a couple days' delay on that.

I'll withdraw my motion

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Proposing an amendment:

(I know I'm the sponsor but I'm proposing this for discussion among us members)

AN ACT
to fight the pandemic with bribes
Be it enacted by both houses of Congress assembled:

Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "COVID Is No Match for Bribes Act." It may be cited as the "COVID Bribes Act."

Section 2 (Bribes)
i. Any taxpayer aged sixteen (16) years or older shall be eligible to take a one-time refundable credit of $1,000750 who can provide proof of vaccination for novel coronavirus (COVID-19).  Taxpayers shall also be eligible to take a one-time refundable credit of the same value for all dependents aged sixteen (16) years or older for whom such proof can be provided.
(a) Only persons having received the first dose of a vaccine for COVID-19 approved by the Center for Disease Control on or before April 15, 2021 shall be eligible for this credit.

Designation: HB 29-04
Sponsor: Razze