It’s been a wild ride over the past few months as we have followed the progress of the different stimulus packages.
When it comes to stimulus checks, we’ve seen support come and go but ultimately we saw both parties, Democrats and Republicans, along with the White House come together and support more direct payments to Americans.
Unfortunately, lawmakers got caught up in various disagreements regarding the last stimulus package and thus far have failed to arrive at a final agreement. Republicans attempted to pass a slimmed down version of a stimulus bill this week but it did not get the necessary support within the Senate to go anywhere.
And now, people are starting to speculate that nothing may happen until after the elections at the beginning of November.
“Senate Democrats scuttled a scaled-back GOP coronavirus rescue package on Thursday as the parties argued to a standstill over the size and scope of the aid, likely ending hopes for coronavirus relief before the November election,” The Associated Press writes.
“The mostly party-line vote capped weeks of wrangling that gave way to election-season political combat and name-calling over a fifth relief bill that all sides say they want but are unable to deliver. The bipartisan spirit that powered earlier aid measures is all but gone.”
Republican Pat Roberts of Kansas, said negotiations are “a dead end street, and very unfortunate.”
The feeling seems to have rapidly shifted in Washington regarding more stimulus aid. At this point, I think the only victory we can assume is that lawmakers are committed to avoiding a government shut down despite their disagreements over pandemic aid.
“It’s becoming plain that all Congress will do before the Nov. 3 election is pass legislation to avert a government shutdown. The outcome of the election promises to have an outsize impact on what might be possible in a postelection lame-duck session, with Democrats sure to press for a better deal if Democrat Joe Biden unseats President Donald Trump,” The Associated Press wrote.
“There’s no indication yet that bipartisan talks that crumbled last month will restart. Top lawmakers and aides offered glum assessments both publicly and privately.”
This is about as pessimistic as I have seen experts and lawmakers get regarding advancing another stimulus aid package. It’s a bit depressing but I still would not rule out something eventually happening.
The issue is just that it could take until after the November 3 elections for things to get going and if Biden wins it’s possible that we won’t see anything happen until January 2021.
So while I would not lose out on all hope at this point I would not be counting on more checks to come in and if they do I would be prepared for them to take months to arrive.
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Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
