KANSAS CITY – U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II and 57 other members of Congress called for direct cash assistance for Americans to continue on a monthly basis until the coronavirus pandemic subsides. “Simply put, people need more money in their pockets, and sending monthly payments to workers and families is the fastest and most direct way to address that need,” Cleaver and other lawmakers wrote in a bicameral letter to Senate and House leaders and minority leaders. “Now is not a time for timid solutions. In the face of an unprecedented moment in economic history and public health, we need to offer bigger, bolder and far more aggressive policies.” The present program seems to put the needs of everyday Americans second to that of businesses, the lawmakers asserted. “The CARES Act provided a multi-year bail out for large companies, but it provided most American families with only a few months’ worth of assistance, at best. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic claimed millions of jobs,…