The Internal Revenue Service certainly has done a remarkable job in being able to disburse roughly one hundred sixty-one million coronavirus stimulus checks to Americans who have been economically hurt during the course of the ongoing pandemic.

In all, the latest count represents about 85 percent of the $450 billion total earmarked for stimulus funds, according to the agency.

But what recently released data are indicating is that more than six in ten adults admit the stimulus payments “won’t sustain their financial well-being for more than three months, as most plan to allocate proceeds toward covering monthly bills (45 percent), daily necessities such as food and supplies (36 percent), and outstanding debt (32 percent),” a recent survey by Bankrate revealed.

Moreover, a little over 20 percent of Americans have acknowledged that the stimulus funds won’t last a full month and another 14 percent said the modest cash windfall won’t improve their current finances at all.

In addition, although unemployed workers claiming benefits continued to decline last month, the figures are still higher than pre-pandemic levels, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

“Stimulus continues to be a bit of a misnomer, with households predominantly using the money to pay monthly bills and provide day-to-day essentials,” Greg McBride, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst, said in a statement. “Even households with those bases covered are opting to pay down debt and boost savings—prudent decisions that lead to more sustained spending in the future.”  

It appears that such data are giving more momentum to the idea that a fourth or even a fifth round of direct stimulus payments are needed. Know that to date, Congress already approved the delivery of three stimulus checks to most Americans—a $1,200 check in April 2020, $600 in December, and the current $1,400 payments.

But can Americans really expect to see another round of stimulus payments green-lighted as early as next month? The chance of direct payments being passed by Congress in May is very low, but know that does not mean that more stimulus cash is out of the question for future legislation.

Many Washington lawmakers appear to have already taken note of the sufferings of low-income Americans. Recently, twenty-one Democratic senators signed off on a letter to President Joe Biden in support of recurring stimulus payments.

“We urge you to include recurring direct payments and automatic unemployment insurance extensions tied to economic conditions in your Build Back Better long-term economic plan,” the senators wrote.

They also pointed to recent polling data that showed that a majority of Americans strongly support recurring stimulus payments. “Polling shows 65 percent of Americans support recurring cash payments ‘for the duration of the pandemic.’ This includes support from 54 percent of Republicans and 60 percent of independents. Economists support the idea too,” they wrote.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.