Democrats and some experts suggest that there should be additional aid in addition to the $1,400.
The question remains up in the air, especially after at least 75 members of Congress pushed for a fourth stimulus check, but the answer so far is no, there is no indication that Congress will discuss a new economic package that would send direct aid to families.
Nor has President Joe Biden shown any signs of supporting a new bill, similar to the American Recovery Plan (ARP), as he is focused on his $2.25 billion American Jobs Plan for infrastructure and supports for health and housing.
None of the items contemplated in that proposal, which is facing criticism from Republicans, is aimed at a check in addition to the last $1,400 dollars that the IRS continues to distribute to millions of families.
Liberal House Democrats sent a letter to President Biden urging passage of a new direct-to-families economic package, but have not heard back.
A recent letter from senators, including Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (Oregon) and Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (Vermont), advocates for more help, because the ARP funds that were mostly sent in March will have vanished for families facing hardship the most.
“This crisis is far from over and families deserve the certainty that they can put food on the table and have a roof over their heads,” the Democratic senators said in their letter. “Nearly 6 in 10 people say the $1,400 payments to be included in the bailout package will last them less than three months.”
The experts also believe a new relief bill would be “feasible” for certain families because more than 18 million people still receive unemployment insurance.
“More direct stimulus payments are certainly possible,” Peter Earle, an economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, told CNBC.
Another expert, David Blanchflower, who teaches economics at Dartmouth College, also told CNBC that the ARP “won’t be enough.”
Republicans and some Democrats who opposed new economic aid may reject a new direct aid plan.
That is while the Biden Administration prefers to focus – for now – its efforts on immunization, the staggered reopening and the passage of its infrastructure plan, which is intended to create new, higher paying jobs, the path the president believes is the right one for the U.S. to get its economy back on track.