A move is reported to be underway in Congress for the passage of a fourth stimulus check.
“Families and workers shouldn’t have to worry about whether they’ll have enough money to pay for essentials in the months ahead as the country continues to fight a global pandemic and recession,” seven members of the 42-member House Ways and Means Committee have written in a public letter.
The letter, sent to President Biden, also held out the possibility of a fifth stimulus check, noting that such funding “could reduce the number in poverty in 2021 from 44 million to 16 million.”
A national petition listed on the website Change.org is calling for a $2,000 check for families and has so far secured more than 2.2 million names.
A group called the Economic Security Project is also calling for a fourth check—and soon. Adam Ruben, campaign director for the ESP, said the delay last year between the first stimulus check and the second allowed for some 8 million people to fall into poverty.
The last stimulus check for an average of $1,400 was passed by Congress and approved by President Biden in March. The stimulus was part of the President’s larger $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief legislation, with most checks mailed out from the Treasury Department by late April.
Although various economic analysts have questioned the need for a fourth check, the website Motley Fool notes: “If the pandemic worsens again, or if Americans continue to struggle financially, this will only serve to increase demand for a fourth check.”
Meanwhile the Boston Herald has concluded a study noting that some 1.2 million earlier stimulus checks remained unspent. The paper said such checks either were never cashed or were returned to the Treasury Department.
By Garry Boulard
