We now know that there is a $900 billion stimulus plan that is starting to gain serious momentum in Congress.
This is a bill that probably has the best odds of actually getting passed when compared to a handful of other stimulus bills that have been introduced over the past few months.
And it also might be the case that this bill could pass before the new year.
One of the key reasons for that is that Pelosi and other Democrat leaders are on board with this plan — at least when it comes to a basis for negotiations.
One of the drawbacks to this plan is that it does not contain additional stimulus checks.
The majority of Americans believe that more stimulus checks should go out and would support Congress sending more.
Certain lawmakers have begun to speak out about the lack of stimulus checks and how important they are for economic recovery.
“If people don’t get UI assistance, and if they don’t get a stimulus check, then relief isn’t going to be felt in their lives, not in a substantive way,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said.
“And so will I support resources to hospitals and schools and firefighters? Absolutely. But I am extremely concerned that it’s not going to solve the immediate problems that people have.”
And today, we just heard that Biden said another round of stimulus checks may still be in play for many Americans.
“I think it would be better if they had the $1,200 [payments to families],” Biden said.
“And I understand that may be still in play. But, I’m not going to comment on the specific details. The whole purpose of this is, we’ve got to make sure people aren’t thrown out of their apartments, lose their homes, are able to have unemployment insurance [that] they can continue to feed their families on as we grow back the economy.”
At this point, it’s hard to tell if more stimulus checks could actually be included in this plan.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell already seems to oppose this bill but it could be for alternative reasons such as the amount of aid going to local and state governments.
Although I would not say it is likely, I think it is still possible that McConnell and other Republicans would consider including more stimulus checks.
They were on board with sending out more of them during the summer and I think with enough pressure and negotiations, they could end up getting included in this next bill.
But even if more checks do not go out, the momentum for this new bill is real and there’s a great chance of a meaningful recovery bill getting passed very soon.
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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.
