Everyone is waiting for the third round of stimulus checks, but as of now, there is no clear timeline for it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, however, has come up with sort of a deadline of when people can expect to receive coronavirus stimulus checks.
The next coronavirus stimulus package is expected to cost $1.9 trillion and include $1,400 stimulus checks. So far, it was largely believed that Congress would approve the stimulus package sometime in March. Now, Pelosi has come up with some specific dates on when the stimulus package may get approved.
On Thursday, speaking to reporters, Pelosi said the House expects to pass the stimulus package by the end of February and “certainly [have it] on the President’s desk in time to offset the March 14 deadline where some unemployment benefits will expire.”
Rep. Steny Hoyer recently also told reporters the same timeline. Hoyer said Democrats are aiming for a floor vote during the week of Feb. 22 and pass it before March 14.
According to CNBC, nine House committees have started to work on their portions of the relief bill. Pelosi expects that the committees drafting their portion of the legislation to complete the work this week. Once these committees finish their work, they will combine their portions.
The completed bill will then go through the Rules Committee, and the House will then vote on it. A Bloomberg report claims the full House is expected to vote on the bill in the week starting Feb. 22.
What about opposition in the Senate?
In the Senate also, the bill would be presented on time. Though the Senate is currently holding the second impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump, it would push forward with the relief package as well.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reiterated the same on Thursday, telling reporters that the trial is not delaying the aid package. However, the relief package is expected to face challenges in the Senate.
The Senate is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, so even a single Democrat defection could block the relief package. Democrats are also working on a process to move forward with the approval without any support from Republicans.
Talking about Democrats’ intent to move ahead alone, White House Council of Economic Advisors member Jared Bernstein told CNBC that there is a “very deep” bipartisan support for the stimulus package as per public opinion polls. Also, Bernstein noted that “urgency” to address the pandemic is what is inspiring Democrats to move forward alone.
Republicans do not support a massive stimulus package because Congress already approved a $900 billion package last month. To reach a compromise, a group of GOP senators introduced a $600 billion proposal. Democrats, however, rejected it referring to it as inadequate to address the crisis.
