Fourth Stimulus Check: Will You Get Another Relief Payment?

CBS Dallas/Fort Worth

July 11, 2021

Stimulus checks have helped keep the finances of millions of Americans afloat during COVID. The pandemic seems to be approaching the end, at least in the U.S., and life is moving toward some sort of new normal. The economy continues to mend, but the recovery is affecting different people and different parts of the country in different ways. Some people’s finances have improved, but other people’s haven’t. Unemployment remains above pre-pandemic levels, even as job openings surge. Almost half of all states have already discontinued the federal unemployment bonus. Meanwhile, the federal eviction moratorium ends in a few weeks, and millions of people remain behind on bills and short of food. A fourth stimulus check would give more government assistance to those in need. But will it show up sometime in 2021?

That question still lacks a definitive answer. There are some clues as to 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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