A third $1,400 stimulus check is soon to be negotiated. Last week, President-elect Joe Biden released his proposal for a new pandemic stimulus package that includes a third $1,400 stimulus check for most Americans. And this week, the country will move closer to making this proposal a reality when Biden and two new Democratic senators from Georgia take office in the Senate.
Still, the process may take longer than many Democratic leaders expect, as the stimulus package also includes raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, extending paid leave for workers and increasing tax credits for families with children.
However, it is possible that a single bill focusing only on a third stimulus check could pass quickly. Such a bill would cost about $2 billion and may take days, if not weeks, of negotiation.
Once either project is approved, the U.S. Treasury Department could distribute the third stimulus check in a matter of days, as the department has improved the speed of payment processing since the first round of $1,200 stimulus checks, as reported on Fox 8.
There is also some concern that impeachment proceedings against still-president Donald Trump could delay the process. The trial of Donald Trump in the Senate is expected to begin shortly after Biden takes office, and could distract lawmakers.
Why hasn’t a third stimulus check been approved yet?
There are people from the president-elect’s own party who do not want a new stimulus check. To begin with, so far, there are several Democrats who have refused to pass a third stimulus check. And with the Senate evenly divided, if only one from this party is against it, it will make it very difficult to get one more stimulus check.
On the one hand, Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on January 14 that she hoped a $2,000 stimulus check would pass, as Biden had promised, and not just $1,400 as some want.
But, on the other end of the spectrum, Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat from West Virginia, has already expressed concern several times about the cost of giving a third stimulus check, and suggested that financial aid might be better focused on those who need the money most.
“How is the money we’re spending now going to help us better get jobs back and get employees,” Manchin said January 8, later indicating that he was open to hearing President-elect Joe Biden’s proposal for a new stimulus check that would provide more money, but prioritize vaccine distribution.
All of the above is only in the Democratic Party, which includes President-elect Joe Biden himself.
On the other hand, many Republicans are expected to oppose the Democrats’ new stimulus package, especially one that could be more than twice the size of the second $600 stimulus check, so passage of a third stimulus check has to overcome many obstacles to become a reality.