Social Media Demands a Second Stimulus Check as 2020 Winds Down
11/30/2020 08:32 pm EST
According to the 2020 congressional calendar, the House of Representatives is scheduled to begin their vacation after Dec. 10, with the Senate closing their current session on Dec. 18. The two chambers will not return until the new year.
Lawmakers at the negotiations table had once been making a push to pass a relief bill before Election Day on Nov. 3. After that date passed, it had been believed that lawmakers would be able to pass a stimulus bill during the current lame duck session.
Speaking to The Hill in October, one senior Senate GOP aid predicted that there would be "more opportunity" after the election to negotiate and strike a deal. Several lawmakers also expressed a belief that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would "have a strong incentive" to approve a stimulus bill during the lame-duck session, as it will make it easier to put together a full-year annual appropriations package before Christmas.
Despite these beliefs, in the days that have followed those remarks, more doubt has been cast that a deal will be struck by the end of 2020. In mid-November, aides told CNN that "there are no signs that a deal is on the horizon." Those aides said that Democrats and Republicans "are still awaiting direction from their leadership on how to proceed."
The lack of anther stimulus bill means that numerous provisions that were enacted under the CARES Act are now reaching their expiration dates. Enhanced unemployment benefits, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, eviction protection, and student loan deferrals will expire by the end of the year.
At this times, it seems unlikely that another stimulus bill will be passed by the end of the year. This doesn't mean, however, that further aid is not on the way, as it is possible that additional aid will be passed after President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan. 20.
Biden, who has urged Congress to take action now rather than wait, already has plans for a stimulus relief bill. The package, according to reports, would include a second stimulus payment, among numerous other provisions.
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