This week could be important for possible fourth coronavirus stimulus checks

June
14, 2021

3 min read

This story originally appeared on ValueWalk

There haven’t been any serious talks on the fourth or fifth round of stimulus checks so far. One reason for this is because Congress hasn’t been in session for almost a month now. Both houses of Congress will be back in session again this week, and hopefully, some progress will be made on another round of coronavirus stimulus checks.

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Coronavirus stimulus checks: why this week is important

Both the houses will be back in session for the first time since May 20. It is believed that new developments over the past month or so could encourage lawmakers to have some serious discussions on stimulus checks. These new developments include recent comments from the White House and a new study on the impact of the last two rounds of stimulus payments.

These developments, along with the fact that many members of Congress are in support of more stimulus checks, is expected to intensify the debate on direct payments. There have been reports that more than 80 members of Congress are in support of another round of stimulus checks. This includes seven members of the House Ways and Means Committee.

In a recent letter to President Biden, these members of the House Ways and Means Committee urged Biden to approve another round of stimulus checks. Further, they noted that more stimulus checks would help keep about 12 million more people out of poverty.

Along with the support of Democrats, those in favor of more stimulus checks have one more thing in their support. A recent study of census survey data found that the last round of stimulus checks provided millions of Americans with food, housing and mental health.

Further, the study claimed that households with children reporting food shortages, financial instability and depression, dropped from 42% to 20% from January through April.

Is the White House in favor of stimulus checks?

The White House though, hasn’t talked in favor of a fourth stimulus check, but hasn’t completely rejected the idea either.

“He’s happy to hear from a range of ideas on what would be most effective and what’s most important to the economy moving forward,” Psaki told reporters during a press briefing.

However, Psaki also noted that Biden has already proposed things that he believes will work the best to help people and the economy.

Another point that proponents of stimulus checks would have to talk about is the growing public support in favor of more stimulus checks. A Change.org petition, which calls for regular stimulus checks, has gotten more than 2.3 million signatures.

So, once Congress is back in session, it will have plenty of things to talk about regarding another round of stimulus checks. It is very likely that no Republicans would support stimulus checks again. Thus, if Democrats plan on approving another round of stimulus checks, they would have to use the same process they used with the third round.