Second Stimulus Checks: When Direct Payments to Americans Will Come Under Joe Biden
The outcome of the U.S. presidential election is affecting how fast Americans will receive their second stimulus checks. With Joe Biden named the president-elect, Americans are eager to know how soon they will receive the second round of direct payments. The Senate goes back into session on Monday when the stimulus discussion will be prioritized.
When Second Stimulus Checks Are Coming
Many Americans were hoping that a new stimulus package with the second round of stimulus checks would pass before the presidential election. Now that the election is mostly over and former vice president Joe Biden has been called the president-elect and Kamala Harris the vice president-elect, the question has become when Americans will get their second stimulus checks.
Recalling the status of the second stimulus check discussion, President Donald Trump had promised “a tremendous stimulus package immediately after the election.” However, he is now busy suing various states and asking several counties for a recount, emphasizing that the election is not over.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is key to the stimulus negotiations, won the House race in her district in California and is already seeking another two-year term as the Speaker of the House. She sent a letter to her colleagues on Friday asking for their support. She and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had been discussing stimulus terms almost daily prior to the election but could never come to an agreement. Pelosi pushed for the $2.2 trillion revised HEROES Act while the White House made a $1.8 trillion counteroffer. Both stimulus packages include the second round of stimulus checks to Americans.
Stating that she wants to resume coronavirus relief aid negotiations with Republicans, Pelosi said Friday:
While we prepare for the new Biden administration, we must also move swiftly for a new coronavirus relief bill. We want the Republicans to come back to the table.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been seen as key to blocking the passage of several proposed stimulus packages, including those providing direct payments to Americans. He recently attempted to advance a much smaller stimulus bill than Pelosi’s revised HEROES Act on the Senate floor. His bill, which was blocked by the Democrats, omitted the second round of $1,200 stimulus checks to individuals.
McConnell has also been re-elected to a seventh term in the Senate. He said Wednesday following his re-election that an economic stimulus bill should be completed before the end of the year and will be the Senate’s focus, adding:
We need another rescue package. The Senate goes back into session next Monday. Hopefully the partisan passions that prevented us from doing another rescue package will subside with the election. And I think we need to do it and I think we need to do it before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, former vice president Joe Biden has also outlined his stimulus aid relief plan. He said on Saturday after the media called his presidential win that he will make fighting the spread of coronavirus top priority, including a Covid-19 relief aid stimulus package. Biden is expected to move into the White House on Jan. 20.
As part of his presidential campaign, Biden published his Emergency Action Plan to Save the Economy, which provides insight into the direction of his stimulus relief aid when he is elected president. His plan “features some elements from the CARES Act, such as stimulus payments for eligible Americans and more unemployment benefits,” Cnet described.
Biden has promised that as president he will “Provide for additional checks to families should conditions require.” He further promised to “Provide emergency paid sick leave to everyone who needs it, with no one left out. This should include workers in all industries and all sectors, regardless of company size, and including gig workers, domestic workers, contractors, and the self-employed.” While Biden’s plan includes a second round of direct stimulus payments, it does not specify how many or for how much, or whether any of the qualifications would change from the CARES Act.
When do you think Americans will receive their second stimulus checks? Let us know in the comments section below.
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