Joe Biden hasn't ruled out a fourth stimulus check to aid cash-strapped Americans, saying he's "open to ideas" on how to get the economy rolling again. Since March, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been distributing monthly stimulus payments of up to $1,400, but Democratic leaders in Congress are pressuring the president to introduce recurring checks.
It looks that Biden hasn't ruled out the possibility of introducing new stimulus payments. White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated that the president is "happy to listen" to ideas on how to get the economy moving ahead.
Biden has not ruled out fourth stimulus checks
"But he’s also proposed what he thinks is going to be most effective for the short term for putting people back to work, to getting through this pivotal period of time, and also to making us more competitive over the longterm, " Psaki said, according to Fox8.
Biden has already suggested solutions that he feels would be the most successful in the short run, she said. It contains his latest infrastructure investment plans as well as the Americans Families Plan. According to this week's jobs report, 9.3 million people are unemployed, up from 5.8 million in February of last year, before the pandemic started. Yahoo Money reveals over 20 Democrats signed a petition requesting that stimulus checks be automatically deposited into American bank accounts.
A Change.org petition encouraging lawmakers to adopt legislation for recurring $2,000 monthly payments had over 2.2 million signatures as of Wednesday. In late March, twenty-one Democratic senators signed a letter to President Biden advocating continuing stimulus funding.
At the state level, a proposal by Governor Gavin Newsom to distribute $600 stimulus checks to people as part of a multibillion-dollar spending package released earlier this week may put millions of Californians in line for a fourth stimulus check. Under his idea, over two-thirds of Californians might get a stimulus payment.
Read Also: Two New Stimulus Checks Could Hit Bank Accounts in The Next Six Months. Are You Eligible For Both?
Biden recognizes the needs for another relief
In the meantime, many Americans are still waiting for their third round of stimulus payments. More than 165 million payments of up to $1,400 per individual have been paid out in the two months after Biden's American Rescue Plan was authorized. Last week, almost 1 million paper checks and Economic Impact Payment cards were mailed out, along with "plus-up payments" for people who didn't get what they were entitled at the time.
The goal of the legislators is to prevent the bureaucratic nightmare that individuals go through while waiting for stimulus checks to be carefully authorized during partisan bickering. A letter signed by 26 Democrats hinted at the possibility of automatic payments.
It lays out "automatic stabilizers" for increased unemployment benefits and stimulus payments. If carried out, any future economic crises, such as the present pandemic, would be quickly addressed, as stimulus checks would not be hindered by political differences.
According to some members of the House Ways & Means Committee, another round of payments may keep another 12 million Americans out of poverty. "The pandemic has served as a sharp reminder that families and employees need certainty in a crisis. They have the right to know that they will be able to put food on the table and have a roof over their heads. They shouldn't have to rely on ad hoc solutions and continuously fluctuating legislative timelines," the legislators wrote in a letter to the president, The Sun reported.
Related Article: Fourth Stimulus Check, If Approved, May Reach Only Fewer Americans: Why and How to Qualify
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