- Americans hoping for a new stimulus check sometime soon were no doubt dismayed when the Senate’s negotiations over a new coronavirus relief package dissolved into a stalemate.
- The Senate is adjourned until September 7, after which it will likely take up talks again over a coronavirus stimulus package.
- If an agreement is reached to include funding for new stimulus checks in the bill, here’s an estimate of how soon you could get a new check.
Republicans are focused right now on the party convention unfolding this week at which President Trump fill formally be renominated to be the party’s standard-bearer in this fall’s presidential election, so it’s a good bet the coming days likely won’t be the best opportunity for bipartisan productivity in Congress. That means, unfortunately, Americans will have to wait even longer for the prospect of congressional leaders approving funding for new stimulus check coronavirus relief payments, since the legislation being considered in the Senate now (the HEALS Act) doesn’t have funding those payments at all as part of the package.
The glass-half-full way of thinking here leads us to conclude, however, that we might not have to wait too long for this issue to be rectified. It should go without saying that most Americans would expect funding for new stimulus checks to be part of any new stimulus bill, considering that the coronavirus pandemic that’s been so devastating from a public health standpoint in the US and around the world — having now been responsible for more than 5.7 million infections in the US and more than 176,000 deaths — has also sparked tens of millions of job losses in the US. Accordingly, Americans have every reason to expect that Congress will pass legislation authorizing a new round of direct relief payments, just as the body did earlier this year at the start of the pandemic. Which begs the question, when might those payments arrive?
“The public is demanding action on this now,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the weekend on CNN. One bit of good news is that once a new stimulus bill actually does get passed, new stimulus checks could be sent out within a week, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Some things to be aware of: In addition to the Republican National Convention taking place this week through Thursday, a new congressional session officially begins in September. And the Senate is adjourned until September 7.
Back at the end of March, remember, Congress passed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act. That was the massive coronavirus relief legislation lawmakers reached an accord on at the start of the pandemic, and following the law garnering President Trump’s signature on March 27, the first stimulus checks under the terms of that bill started to be sent out on April 15.
Using Mnuchin’s comments, as well as that turn of events stemming from the CARES Act as a guide, CNET has prepared a helpful infographic showing the following estimates of when Americans might can expect to receive a new stimulus check. If everything goes well, most individuals could get a minimum of $1,200, on one of these dates, just to give you an idea of the possible payment schedule — again, assuming Congress passes a new stimulus bill by any of these listed dates:
