CORONAVIRUS
Second stimulus check: how long could voting be delayed?
The Senate will recess, as it does every year, for the month of August and an agreement on a second stimulus check will be decided by then.
After weeks of waiting for news of a second stimulus check, it seems movement is being made on a new economic relied package for Americans. Donald Trump says it will be coming soon and Mitch McConnell has also given details about what we might expect from the second package.
Talks indeed continue apace, at least in public. Democrats set out their stall when they passed the HEROES Act that included a second stimulus check. Republicans preferred to wait and push back on the idea that a second stimulus check was inevitable. They have aimed at reigniting the economy through tax breaks, help for businesses and getting people back to work.
Republicans agree with second stimulus check
As the pandemic has worsened and with the economy sputtering along without any huge improvement, even Republicans have conceded that a second stimulus check will arrive. The eligibility for the first check was very generous and those making $75,000 or less received financial aid.
Now, Mitch McConnell says only lower income families will be getting a check. This is all just posturing for now, however, with Trump championing his own thoughts on how to help the American people. "I support even bigger numbers than the Democrats," he has said.
It it not the president's decision though. That task will fall at the feet of the Senate, who will decide exactly what a second stimulus package will look like. There will be plenty of back-and-forth over the check when negotiations beging with Democrats likely holding out until they get their way -- stimulus checks -- and likewise from the Republicans -- who want stimulus checks and money for small business etc. So, what we know is that there is almost certainly a second check coming but we don't know any other details.
Americans want to know when it will be decided but that too is unclear. The key date is 20 July for the start of negotiations. That is not when everything will be decided, that's just when negotiations will begin. Those negotiations should give us a better picture of what both political parties are aiming towards.
Each year, Congress recesses for the month of August. This year they will break for recess on the 7 August. That means a new stimulus package will be decided before or on that date.