Here's What You Need to Remember: Despite grassroots support and advocacy from progressive Democrats, a fourth stimulus check seems unlikely. Biden has not publicly addressed the issue, and neither has Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

As President Joe Biden continues to advocate for his twin infrastructure and social safety proposals – titled the “American Jobs Plan” and the “American Families Plan” – many lawmakers and commentators have focused on the one element missing from either: another stimulus check.

So far, three rounds of stimulus checks have been sent out: a $1200 payment in March 2020, an abortive $600 payment in December 2020, and a $1400 check as part of Biden’s “American Rescue Plan” in March 2021. Altogether, $3200 has been sent out, in addition to “plus-up” payments from the IRS, federal unemployment insurance, and other assorted payments.

Fiscal conservatives and deficit hawks have derided these payments as inefficient and expensive. As more Americans receive their vaccines and states lift local lockdowns and quarantines, the economy has begun to reopen, and there is fear that government assistance will have a negative effect on willingness to work – a belief that is responsible for twenty-four states, all governed by Republicans, voluntarily ending their federal unemployment benefits three months early to incentivize a return to work.

Inefficient though the payments may be, however, there have been clear positive consequences for many Americans. According to a report by the Economic Security Project, sixteen million people in the United States were kept above the poverty line by the March 2021 payment. The report went on to state that an additional twelve million could be lifted out of poverty if the Biden administration promptly took measures to send out a fourth stimulus measure.

The twelve million figure was also cited in a May 2021 letter from seven House Democrats, led by Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), urging President Biden to implement stimulus measures as part of the American Families Plan. The letter specifically urged recurring payments of $2000 – an idea previously cited by other progressive Democrats, including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and supported by more than 2.2 million Americans via Change.org.

Gomez’s letter also introduced the idea of an “automatic stabilizer” – meaning that a check could be approved by the House and Senate and prepared to be sent out by the IRS, but might only actually be sent if the market’s recovery stalled. In this way, the check’s triggering would be tied to a certain economic metric, such as unemployment; if the unemployment rate dipped below a certain level, the checks would be sent out.

Despite grassroots support and advocacy from progressive Democrats, a fourth stimulus check seems unlikely. Biden has not publicly addressed the issue, and neither has Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; observers have suggested that her concentration is on implementing Biden’s infrastructure plans over further stimulus measures.

This article is being republished due to reader interest.

Image: Reuters.