
There are several ways to find money on your own while you wait for a definitive answer from Washington about another stimulus check. If a new round of stimulus checks were to face simple majority votes in the House and Senate - which is possible under the arcane budget process used for the last coronavirus rescue bill - there's no guarantee of passage. To win over moderate Senate Democrats, eligibility for the payments was "targeted" away from higher earners. She has said nothing about adding recurring payments, or just a fourth stimulus check, to either proposal.īecause of the cost, the latest stimulus checks faced resistance from both Republicans and Democrats when the most recent pandemic relief bill was debated in March. While addressing April's lackluster jobs numbers last week, Speaker Pelosi said passing Biden’s infrastructure and families plans is the "urgent" priority.

In March, more than 20 Democratic senators signed a similar letter.īut there's been little response from Democratic leadership. Her letter also was signed by dozens of other lawmakers. “The American people are counting on us to deliver transformative change, and we need to meet the moment by delivering monthly payments of $2,000,” Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar wrote President Biden in January. What will Congress do?ĭemocrats in Congress have been calling for stimulus payments that would last the entirety of the pandemic since before the last COVID-19 aid bill was passed in March. Now, Biden is focused on trying to get another $4 trillion in spending passed by Congress, for infrastructure projects and a "families plan" that, among other things, would extend the upcoming monthly payments to parents under an expansion of the child tax credit. The government has already spent approximately $5.3 trillion on COVID-19 support for individuals and businesses, according to the Peter G. "We'll see what members of Congress propose, but those (checks) are not free," Psaki said last week.

"But supplying Americans with monthly support until they can get back on their feet can save our communities from financial ruin," she adds. "For our team and other Americans who can claim unemployment, even the maximum payments will not be enough for most people to continue paying their bills - and avoid slipping into poverty," Bonin writes.

With no money coming in because of the pandemic, Bonin and her employees are facing the rather grim prospect of getting through the next several weeks with little to no income. The campaign was started by Stephanie Bonin, a struggling restaurant owner in Denver. The petition asks Congress "to support families with a $2,000 payment for adults and a $1,000 payment for kids immediately, and continuing regular checks for the duration of the crisis." Search traffic for the term "fourth stimulus check" has been peaking, according to Google Trends, and more than 2.15 million people have signed an online petition calling for more relief. Many Americans are eager for a fourth stimulus check.
