Joe Biden's $2,000 stimulus checks: How soon could you get yours?
Joe Biden's $2,000 stimulus checks: How soon could you get yours?
President-elect Joe Biden's pitch this week for a quick, third round of coronavirus relief payments looks closer to becoming reality.
Since last week, most Americans have been receiving their second COVID "stimulus checks," for $600, after an attempt to raise the amount to $2,000 failed in the closing days of 2020.
On Monday, Biden said $2,000 checks could "go out the door" soon if voters in Georgia gave him a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate — and now, that's happened.
Here's what we can currently say about whether and when you're likely to see a third stimulus check.
Biden made his remarks about $2,000 checks at a campaign rally in Georgia, where Democrats were trying to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. senators in a pair of runoff elections held on Tuesday.
The results were close, but both races have now been called for the Democratic challengers — which flips control of the Senate from the Republicans to the Democrats and gives Biden's party majorities in both houses of Congress.
That could make it easier for his proposals, like $2,000 stimulus checks, to become reality.
"That money will go out the door immediately to help people who are in real trouble" if the Democrats won both runoffs, Biden said at the rally.
Many struggling consumers have been eager for the government to keep sending cash. Americans largely used their first stimulus payments for basics like groceries and utility bills, a survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found.
Some also invested the money, the survey said, or used it to meet various other needs. Those may have included buying affordable life insurance, as sales of policies have surged amid the pandemic.
What's the possible timing on new checks?
The new Senate majority leader, New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, is on board with getting more money out quickly.
"One of the first things that I want to do when our new senators are seated, is deliver the $2,000 checks to the American families," Schumer said at a news conference on Wednesday. "Help is on the way."
It's important to note that when Biden, Schumer and others talk about pushing out "$2,000 stimulus checks," it's unclear at this point whether they're talking about new payments of $2,000 — or $1,400, to be added to the $600 Americans are currently getting.
The timing of the fresh cash also is a bit hard to pin down.
Biden says "immediately," but he's not scheduled to take office until Jan. 20. So, if there will be fresh relief payments, you're not likely to get one until February, at the earliest.
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