Second Stimulus Check: Will a Relief Package Arrive Before Election Day?

Many Americans hope that a second round of stimulus checks will be approved soon, and they're wondering if a relief package will arrive before Election Day. The short answer to the question is: probably not. Republican and Democrat leaders have not been able to come to an agreement on what the next stimulus bill should be, in terms of cost. They also mostly disagree on what the best ways to get help to the American people are, with Democrats heavily prioritizing sufficient stimulus payments made directly to citizens, and Republicans leaning more towards tax cuts.

Additionally, with Congress busy on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, and President Trump busy in his re-election campaign, it seems unlikely they would find time to negotiate and pass a bill that House Democrats would overwhelmingly agree to in the next 2 and a half weeks, as Election Day is Nov. 3. Notably, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has announced that he will propose a $500 billion "skinny" bill, and that the Senate will vote on it soon. However, he also stated that he does not expect Democrat leaders to support it.

When it comes to citizens actually receiving their payments, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin previously stated that he can get them out fairly quickly after approval. "I could have them out immediately," he said in a previous interview. "If I could get it passed tomorrow, I could start printing them the following week." Mnuchin added. "I could get out 50 million payments really quickly."

Congress' swift and expansive response to the Covid-19 pandemic last spring spared millions of Americans from falling into poverty after losing their jobs. But now that the relief has ended, the poverty rate has risen in recent months, two new studies show https://t.co/ffxw4xX2SX

— CNN (@CNN) October 16, 2020

There is currently no way of knowing when negotiations over the new stimulus bill will resume, but it is possible that lawmakers could approve a bill that gives $1,200 to all citizens — $2,400 to married couples who file their taxes jointly — and their dependents, up to three. This is the amount outlined in the HEROES Act, which was passed by the House in May. The Cares Act only provided $500 for dependents. The White House proposed its own bill recently, with have upped the amount of money given to dependents, but it was met with criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for other aspects.