You may have recently come across a report claiming Congress has approved another round of stimulus checks amounting to as much as $7,000. This claim of a surprise coronavirus stimulus check, however, is completely false.
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A recent report claimed that Congress had approved another round of stimulus checks of up to $7,000. Further, the report also claimed that the checks would start hitting the bank accounts of eligible recipients from August 19.
Such claims, however, are false. Neither Congress nor the White House has approved any new stimulus checks as of now. Following the report, a large spike was seen in internet searches for related phrases, such as "$7,000 stimulus checks."
It is recommended that people not fall for such rumors as there has been no official news regarding a fourth stimulus check. Moreover, it is very unlikely that Congress will approve another round of stimulus checks now.
This is not the first time there have been rumors related to Congress approving another round of stimulus checks. For instance, last month, several Facebook posts claimed that Congress approved a fourth stimulus check of up to $2,500 and eligible recipients would start getting the payment from July 30.
The comments on these posts showed that many people believed the posts, while some soon found that it was a joke. One of the links on the post sent users to a photo of a gorilla.
Why More Stimulus Checks Are Unlikely?
Since the start of the pandemic last year, Congress has approved three rounds of stimulus checks. The first round was approved in March last year and it promised up to $1,200 to eligible recipients, while the second round came in December last year, giving up to $600 to tax payers.
Most recently, Congress approved the stimulus checks in March 2021 under the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act. The plan gave up to $1,400 to single filers. Along with the stimulus checks, the American Rescue Plan also expanded the child tax credit payment.
The expanded CTC payment gives half the credit in six monthly installments from July through December, and the other half next year at the time of filing the tax return. So far, the IRS has sent two installments of the expanded child tax credit, i.e. of July and August.
All such payments, along with improving jobs numbers, make another round of stimulus very unlikely. Many people, however, still want Congress to send at least one more stimulus check.
A change-org petition requesting Congress to approve more stimulus checks has already gotten over 2.8 million signatures. The petition, which is aiming for 3 million signatures, wants Congress to send regular payments of $2,000 until the pandemic ends. Despite such requests, the chances of another round of stimulus checks are very slim.
