Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) said he believes the federal government can pay for $14 trillion in reparations by spending it “into existence,” borrowing strategies from recent expensive government expenditures.

The pricey federal reparations proposal for black people who are descendants of slaves was introduced in May 2023 by Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) and nine other House Democrats, arguing the country has a “moral and legal obligation to provide reparations” for past enslavement of black people. Bowman told the Journal News that Congress can pay for the program similar to COVID-19 relief programs in 2020 and 2021.