Fourth Stimulus Check: Will There Be Another Relief Payment?

CBS Dallas/Fort Worth

July 19, 2021

Stimulus checks have helped many families navigate COVID from a financial standpoint. The pandemic seems to be approaching its end, at least domestically, and life in the U.S. is settling into some sort of new normal. Although the economy is improving, the recovery isn’t having the same affect on everyone. Some people’s finances have improved, but other people’s haven’t. Unemployment remains above pre-pandemic levels, even as job openings surge. Many states have already discontinued the federal unemployment bonus. Meanwhile, the federal eviction moratorium ends in a couple weeks, and millions of people are still short of food and behind on bills. The new Child Tax Credit, which started on July 15, will help some. But more government assistance all at once, in the form of a fourth stimulus check, might better serve those in need. Will it happen sometime in 2021?

That question still hasn’t been answered definitively. There are some clues that point in the direction things are heading.

The third round of relief payments started back in March, courtesy of the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Since then, somewhere around 169 million people have received up to $1,400 each, accounting for most of the $422 billion set aside. The ARP checks closely followed the $600 payments from January, which came nine months after the $1,200 payments from the pandemic’s early days.

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