$2,000 stimulus checks now top priority

Update:

Now that Democrats will assume control of Congress, many are looking forward to additional stimulus relief that will be on the way.

As mentioned below, we know that stimulus relief in the form of more stimulus checks is going to be a top priority for Democrats but what exactly does that mean in terms of a timeline?

And are we talking about $2,000 checks or $1,400 checks?

These are questions that we don’t know the answer to for sure right now but some experts are already speculating.

In terms of the amount of the checks, it seems that both amounts ($2,000 or $1,400) could be on the table.

“We expect growing anticipation that Democrats will pursue additional stimulus, with a $2,000 check (or at least the remaining $1,400) as a leading item,” Ed Mills, an analyst with investment bank Raymond James, said.

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Considering that passage would likely require 10 Republicans to get on board, I would think that it would be a lot easier to get them on board with an additional $1,400 check rather than an additional $2,000 check.

So I would probably expect the smaller amount to go out.

And that leads us to the next big question which is when we can actually expect these checks to be issued?

Experts are predicting that another stimulus package would likely come in March.

That is the time when the current extended unemployment programs will end which will likely put a lot of pressure on Congress to act.

While the pandemic will likely be under control a lot more by March due to widespread vaccinations, it will most definitely still be a major problem.

I think it is likely that unemployment benefits will be extended for a few more months at that time and it is logical to think that more stimulus checks will be wrapped into that deal.

In that scenario, that means that the third round of stimulus checks would not go out until March or April.

Of course, lawmakers might be more aggressive considering that they have been trying to push these things through for a long time and the situation with the pandemic is looking pretty dire at the moment as lockdowns are coming back at high levels.

My advice would be to sit tight and if you have run into any issues with tracking your IRS payment, you may want to file your 2020 taxes as soon as you can so that you can expedite the process for receiving your stimulus check.

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The highly anticipated Georgia runoff is now over and Democrats have swept both Senate seats.

This means that the Senate make up will now be 50-50 but the tiebreaker will go to the vice president who is also a Democrat, so Democrats now essentially control both the House and the Senate.

For those anticipating and in need of more stimulus checks, this is a great victory.

The soon to be majority leader of the Senate has already stated that delivering $2,000 checks is a top priority.

“One of the first things that I want to do when our new senators are seated is deliver the $2,000 checks to the American Families,” Schumer said.

Biden has also been a vocal supporter of higher stimulus checks and has also reiterated interest in seeing a third stimulus check go out stating, “$2,000 checks will go out the door.” 

It’s a little bit unclear as to whether or not $2,000 checks will be in addition to the $600 payments already going out or if there would be an additional $1,400 payment.

Either way, the odds are extremely high that we will see more stimulus relief go out very soon.

This legislation would still likely need 60 votes to pass which would mean that 10 Republicans would have to get on board.

We’ve already heard reports that there could be at least 10 Republicans who would vote in favor of more stimulus relief so that is certainly a possibility.

As far as when the relief will get drafted and finalized, that is a bigger unknown.

There were obviously some very chaotic events in Washington yesterday but it’s not clear to me that this is an ongoing threat as of yet.

Now that the election results have been certified, Biden is expected to be sworn in on inauguration day on January 20.

I would imagine that lawmakers would jump on the opportunity to start getting items passed that they have been working on for months and months so I don’t think they will waste any time.

That makes me believe that we could see a deal come together in February and more checks issued in February or perhaps in March.

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