After Congress’ summer break ends, questions about COVID-19 stimulus packages start to rise again.
However, as those in charge say that the economy is slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels, lawmakers reportedly have so many other things to focus on including the Afghanistan crisis, reproductive rights, the federal debt ceiling and the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget proposal.
These things make another round of stimulus checks less likely.
Another reason why stimulus checks are unlikely to receive a resurgence is that both the Democrat and Republican parties fail to reach an agreement regarding how much they feel would be appropriate for further relief assistance.
According to Forbes, “Democrats have proposed a package that costs over $3 trillion, although they are now open to reducing the number by about $1 trillion. Democrats have also pushed for direct payouts of $1,200 per individual, with the total payments of as much as $6,000 per family.
In comparison, the $1 trillion HEALS Act proposed by Republicans as a follow up to the CARES act passed in March, also proposed up to $1,200 per individual, subject to annual income, with an additional $500 per dependent.
However, in mid-August, Senate Republicans started circulating a new and significantly pared down stimulus proposal, which makes no mention of the second round of direct stimulus payments.
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We think that a final package, if passed, will include stimulus checks, as they are seen as the most popular aspect of the economic packages and they have a direct impact on low and middle-income Americans.”
As of now, three programs are still available that are supposed to help people, especially low-income Americans from the financial setbacks caused by the pandemic.
The expanded Child Tax Credit, which provides families up to $3,600 per child through a combination of advanced payments and a more traditional tax credit.
Over $46 billion in emergency rental assistance. As of Aug. 26, only 11% of the allotted funds had been distributed.
Another $10 billion was set aside to help homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages.
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