If there’s no second stimulus check in the next rescue bill, you might still benefit

Someday this week, Republican and Democratic negotiators are anticipated to as soon as once more roll up their sleeves and wrangle a stimulus package. Negotiations have already dragged on for six months, mired by deep partisan divisions. How profitable they will be as 2020 winds down is anybody’s guess. 

The urgent must ship extra support and the frustrations that another COVID-19 relief bill nonetheless may not occur, has alarmed US leaders and well being specialists alike because the nation barrels towards a “dark winter” of surging coronavirus cases and impending economic hardship. The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention has warned that the US may attain a death toll of over 320,000 by mid-December.

In an effort to get one thing carried out, a rising variety of Democratic and Republican lawmakers are pushing for Congress to pass a smaller bill than the one Democrats have backed since May, which may prolong a few of the most crucial packages set to expire at the end of the year. A scaled-back, short-term support bundle may miss the favored second economic stimulus check. After President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20, his administration may then search a bigger, follow-up invoice.

For months, Democratic leaders have rejected the thought of smaller, focused invoice — one thing Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi has referred to as half a loaf —  however with the the Senate and Home of Representatives assembly for only a handful of days earlier than the tip of the 12 months, a smaller invoice could be the solely path ahead to dealer a deal earlier than the tip of the 12 months.

“We have to do that now,” said Senator Roy Blunt, a Republican from Missouri, on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “We have to proceed the funding for the vaccine, the supply of the vaccine… Direct cash to struggling households can be useful and a few of extension of unemployment.”

However a second stimulus check worth up to $1,200 per person may not make the lower. (And a payment could bring you less money than before.) These arguing in opposition to it recommend another direct payment will not be crucial in mild of a forthcoming COVID-19 vaccine that alerts an eventual return to work and the type of spending that drives the economic system. Nonetheless, very few people will get the vaccine as soon as it’s ready and wider distribution in mid-2021 continues to be months away.

After months of fruitless debate, what does it imply if one other stimulus verify does not come? We have regarded on the different advantages a brand new stimulus bundle may convey you, even with no $1,200 per qualified adult. This story is commonly up to date with new data.

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Next stimulus checks: What to expect

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A slimmer bill could still boost weekly federal unemployment checks

The CARES Act in March authorized an additional $600 per week in unemployment money for out-of-work individuals. When that program ran out in July, President Donald Trump signed an executive action that extended payments through the end of the year at $300 extra per week, until Dec. 31 or until the money for each state ran out. With the total number of unemployed workers claiming benefits as high as 20 million, the government reported this month, a renewal of the federal unemployment assistance could directly help millions of people pay for rent, food and other essentials.

Small businesses could get funding to pay worker wages

The Payroll Protection Program, also part of the CARES Act, was designed to help keep workers employed by providing forgivable loans to small businesses for the purpose of paying wages. That means people who work for small businesses should be more likely to keep their jobs because their employer can get extra money to help keep workers on the books. 

While recent studies suggest the payroll program was not as effective as it could have been — with many businesses using the loans on nonpayroll expenses and to build up savings, according to a University of Chicago study — both Republicans and Democrats have pushed for renewal of the program targeted at the hardest-hit small businesses.

Renter protections might be renewed to halt evictions

One in five renters are not caught up on their rent during the pandemic, a Nov. 20 US Census study found, making a lapse in protections potentially catastrophic to American households. Up to 19 million people could lose their homes if eviction protections aren’t renewed. More Americans could declare personal bankruptcy.

The CARES Act included a 120-day moratorium on evicting renters who were late on rent. Trump renewed the moratorium until Dec. 31. With a Dec. 11 deadline to approve a new federal budget, lawmakers will have to act quickly to agree to a short-term fix before the new year.

Until then, here’s what we know about the state of negotiations on another economic rescue bill, what could be holding up an agreement and five benefits going away unless Congress acts before the end of the year.