Both Republicans and Democrats remain deadlocked over the details of a fifth stimulus package to bolster the US economy amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. There seems to be little scope of a quick resolution to the issue with Democrats standing firm in their demands for the financial content of a new deal while the administration of President Donald Trump proposes increasingly watered-down versions to try and trim the overall cost to the federal financial situation.

US Congress adjourned for the August recess on Monday 10th and now will not return until after Labor Day on 7 September. It means that with no deal on the table for a new Coronavirus relief package, Americans face a wait for a second $1,200 stimulus check.

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See also: Stimulus Checks: what has been agreed and what remains to be resolved for a second payment?

Late September?

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The earliest that a deal could be struck will be after Congress returns from vacation on 8 September but even then, it's unlikely that anything will happen immediately. The House of Representatives is not due to reconvene for voting until 14 September although members will remain on stand-by to return to Washington at 24-hours’ notice in the remote scenario that a deal on new stimulus legislation is struck. For any new bill to be passed, members are required to cast their vote in person and so would have to be recalled from vacation. Looking ahead to a potential agreement and subsequent payment, the earliest feasible and most optimistic date when beneficiaries would see money arriving in accounts would be 23 September.

No defined date

Both the Republican HEALS Act proposal and the Democrat-led HEROES Act make provisions for a second tranche of individual $1,200 payments to be made but with a political impasse among senior officials ongoing, there is no definitive established set time-frame for another round of checks.

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