So far, three stimulus checks have been sent out. The most recent of these, passed in March 2021, includes a payment of $1,400 to every American adult (and dependent) making less than $75,000 per year.

The economic impact of this payment has been large on the government’s end. So far, it is estimated to have cost the government roughly $400 billion, out of a total of $450 billion allocated to that purpose. However, there is a perception that it has made a real difference to the economy; in a survey, roughly 90 percent believed that it had helped, rather than hurt, most Americans.

Unfortunately, as of June 11, it has been three months since the March stimulus measure was sent out, and many families have already spent theirs. Because of this, and the perception of a slow economic recovery, some have called for further payments. A Change.org petition, originally launched last March, calling for monthly $2,000 stimulus payments has reached 2.3 million signatures. And more than eighty Democratic Representatives and Senators on Capitol Hill have called for similar measures.

So far, Joe Biden has resisted calls for another blanket stimulus check to all Americans. While he has not explicitly ruled such legislation out, he has also scrupulously avoided endorsing it, effectively dooming it to fail in the filibuster-prone Senate. However, Biden has advocated for a number of other government assistance programs; of these, most were passed in the American Rescue Plan alongside the stimulus checks, or are contained within the American Families Plan, now in Congress.

One of the most significant, but least discussed, among these plans is the Biden administration’s Homeowners Assistance Fund. When it passed the American Rescue Plan, Congress set aside $10 billion for a federal fund to help homeowners harmed by the financial consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Eligible homeowners, if they qualify, will receive federal funds to pay their loans, maintain utility services, and avoid foreclosure. The law prioritizes those who have been hurt the most by the pandemic; in practice, though, it might be difficult to determine who this applies to.

Per the terms of the American Rescue Plan, homeowners are eligible for federal funds if they can prove they were financially harmed as a result of the pandemic. For instance, the funds are available to them if they lost their jobs or if they were infected and received a high hospital bill. They must also show that their income does not exceed 150 percent of the median area income, and they have a remaining mortgage balance of less than $548,250.

If all these qualifications are met, then homeowners can request the funds through their state. The payment will come in the form of a check, which effectively another stimulus check, but only for homeowners in crisis.

Trevor Filseth is a current and foreign affairs writer at the National Interest.

Image: Reuters.