According to a new analysis conducted by the Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute & Brookings Institution, another round of stimulus checks has the potential to lift more than seven million people out of poverty.

The latest data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau show that about thirty-four million people live in poverty in the United States.

“Another round of payments could lift an additional 6.6 to 7.3 million people out of poverty, depending on whether the payment was restricted to citizens or made available to everyone,” the team wrote.

Furthermore, if two more additional stimulus checks were approved by Congress, more than twelve million Americans would no longer be mired in poverty.

“Two such payments could reduce poverty to between 4.9 and 5.2 percent,” the study stated.

The researchers further revealed that communities of color would see an even greater decline in poverty rates.

“Among Black people, an additional payment could reduce poverty from 10.5 percent to between 7.7 and 7.8 percent, and a second payment could further reduce poverty to between 5.8 and 6.0 percent,” they said.

“Hispanic people could see poverty drop from 13.3 percent to between 9.0 and 9.9 percent with one additional payment and to between 6.3 and 7.6 percent with two additional payments,” they added.

The research findings come on the heels of growing support among Democratic lawmakers for more stimulus checks. Earlier this week, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden and twenty other senators urged President Joe Biden to include recurring direct payments in his “Build Back Better” legislation.

“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’ letter to the president read.

“While we are pleased that the American Rescue Plan included a one-time direct payment and an extension of federal unemployment insurance programs, a single direct payment will not last long for most families. … This crisis is far from over, and families deserve certainty that they can put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. Families should not be at the mercy of constantly-shifting legislative timelines and ad hoc solutions,” they added.

The senators also pointed to recent polling data that revealed 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. This first appeared several weeks ago.