Lawmakers are running out of time to pass another coronavirus relief package before Congress adjourns for the holidays. A major point of contention is whether any package will include a second round of stimulus checks, the direct cash payments that helped millions of households weather the economic crunch caused by the
coronavirus pandemic.
A $908 billion bipartisan proposal initially left out stimulus payments, focusing instead on providing jobless workers with an additional $300 in weekly unemployment aid. But a last-minute addition to the package could include another round of checks, most likely at the $600 per-person level, according to a December 16 research note from Raymond James analysts.
That represents half of the $1,200 payments distributed to about 160 million American consumers through the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act this spring. Some senators, including Bernie Sanders of Vermont, have insisted that any new relief bill include another round of checks worth $1,200 for low- and middle-income Americans. Sanders, who is joined by Josh Hawley, a Republican senator from Missouri, pledged to force a vote on the proposal before lawmakers adjourn for the year on December 18.