Congress has still not been able to come to an agreement on another stimulus package. On Monday, after a month-long recess, the House of Representatives reconvened, which has made Americans hope that they can finally work out the details on another stimulus package that both the Democrats and the Republicans can agree on. Lawmakers will only have a short amount on time upon which they can work on another stimulus package before head into yet another recess in advance of the November election. As a result, there is now a new possible date for Congress to approve another relief package.
After reconvening on Monday, the House will have 12 working days to draft another bill before they go into another recess. On the other hand, since the Senate reconvened a week earlier than the House, they will be able to work on another package over the course of 22 working days before they go on recess. At the very earliest, if the Senate passes their own bill on Sept. 30, the House could agree on the package on the very next day, Oct. 1. President Donald Trump would then be able to sign this stimulus proposal into law on Oct. 2 at the earliest. If these steps all come to fruition, and if their package includes more economic impact payments, the IRS could start to send out the second round of stimulus checks on the week of Oct. 12.
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Of course, all of these steps are dependent upon whether the Democrats and Republicans can agree on another package. Currently, the two sides appear to disagree on a number of issues associated with another proposal, with their biggest point of contention tying back to the price point of the package. The Republicans have most recently unveiled their skinny stimulus plan, which would total around $500 billion. Their plan would reportedly not include stimulus payments. That figure falls far short of the total that Democrats have been calling for, as they have proposed legislation that would be in the $2 trillion to $3 trillion range.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer recently spoke out on the Republicans’ latest plan, saying in a joint statement that it is “headed nowhere.” “Senate Republicans appear dead-set on another bill which doesn’t come close to addressing the problems and is headed nowhere,” their statement read, per The Hill. “If anyone doubts McConnell’s true intent is anything but political, just look at the bill. This proposal is laden with poison pills Republicans know Democrats would never support.”
