While many Democrats are calling for another round of stimulus checks, one reason why seems clear: Americans are in massive debt. 

In fact, fifty percent of stimulus payment recipients from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan are using their most recent check to pay down debt, a LendingTree report released last week.

That’s a 34 percent increase compared to a report in June 2020 that revealed that just 16 percent of Americans intended to use their first direct payment to pay off debt.

“That's a huge difference, but it's a good thing,” Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, said in the report. “Nine months ago, most Americans were terrified and had no idea what the future held, so they focused on basic expenses and building up savings. Fast-forward nine months, and things have changed a lot. Repeated stimulus and reduced spending means people have more cash in their pockets, and that—combined with the hope spurred by widespread vaccinations—has given them the luxury of paying down debts instead of solely squirreling away cash.”

The LendingTree report, citing US Census Bureau data, also revealed that only 19 percent of stimulus check recipients were using the $1,400 payment for basic expenses.

“Make no mistake: It is very, very unusual for people to pay down debts in a massive way in an economic downturn,” Schulz added. “It just doesn’t happen, especially when unemployment is at record highs. The combination of government stimulus and reduced personal spending, among other things, made that possible during the past year, though. Yes, many, many Americans have been financially devastated and may never quite recover, but a surprising number of Americans will emerge from the pandemic in far better financial shape that most anyone would’ve predicted.”

Among those who said they were mostly paying off debt with their stimulus payment, 56 percent of respondents said they’d put some of the money toward non-housing debt, like credit cards and student loans, 47 percent said they’d use it to pay bills such as electricity and cable, while just 23 percent said they’d use it for mortgage payments.

The results also indicated that high-income Americans were less likely to use their federal aid to pay down debt, as 26 percent of respondents earning less than $25,000 saved the money and 58 percent paid down debt. Fifty-two percent of respondents with incomes of $200,000 or more saved the money, while just 28 percent paid off debt.

Recipients of the direct payment from Louisiana, West Virginia and New Jersey had the highest rates of residents who said that they were using the relief to pay down debt, while most of the Washington, D.C. and South Dakota respondents prioritized saving their checks.

The report also uncovered that 61 percent of black respondents said that debt was the main focus on how to spend their stimulus money, while only 45 percent of white respondents said the same.

Rachel Bucchino is a reporter at the National Interest. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report and The Hill.