On Sunday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CBS News that Democratic and Republican leaders are “making progress” on another stimulus package.
After weeks of deadlock, the two parties are finally moving closer to a stimulus deal. Some insiders still believe a deal could be reached this week.
Both Democratic and Republican leaders have already agreed that if another package is signed into law it would include another round of $1,200 stimulus checks. But when should Americans expect those checks if the an economic aid package does get signed?
If the last go-around is any indication, the first of the checks would start to be deposited within two weeks of the legislation passing: After the passage of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act on March 27, Americans started to receive their stimulus checks as early as the week of April 13.
But the payments might come faster this time. White House officials have suggested the distribution of the checks could be sped up, given the system is already in place.
Depending on when Congress reaches a deal, it could be too late for the payments to reach households before the election. However, the Republican-controlled U.S. Department of the Treasury could work to speed up that payment.
And direct payments will face fewer roadblocks this time. Back in the spring millions of Americans, including those on Social Security, saw their checks delayed until they provided additional information. Since this payment would use the same tax year, it’s unlikely more information will need to be verified—at least among those who received their first round of payments.
All signs point to the stimulus checks being nearly identical to the first round. The direct payment sent in the spring were worth as much as $1,200 for individuals or $2,400 for married couples, plus $500 for each qualifying child. That amount would decrease for adjusted gross income above $75,000 per individual or $150,000 per qualified couple. And the checks phase out for individuals earning above $99,000, head of household filers with one child above $146,500, and joint filers with no children at $198,000.
What’s holding up the next economic aid package? Democrats want an economic stimulus bill worth at least $2.2 trillion, while the White House hasn’t offered more than $1.6 trillion. But the two parties are much closer than they were in August when Democratic leaders wanted $3.4 trillion and top Republicans wouldn’t go above $1 trillion.
While the two parties disagree on the dollar size of the next stimulus package, they do agree on lots of the spending areas: Both parties support more funding for education, coronavirus-related projects, mortgage and rental assistance, and food programs.
Their main areas of disagreement—outside of the total package size—are on items like a steep increase in federal aid to state and local governments, which Democrats support, and COVID-19 lawsuit immunity for businesses, which Republicans support. And Republicans would like to see $400 weekly enhanced unemployment benefits, while Democrats would like it to go back to $600 per week.