Federal government stimulus check have not been distributed since 2021, but those who believe another batch may be forthcoming should temper their hopes after January 3.
Many Americans are still having trouble paying their bills and managing their money even if the rate of inflation has started to gradually decline.
Midterm Election Results Affect The Possibility Of A Fourth Stimulus Check
Those hoping for another round of stimulus checks will probably need to get ready for the likelihood that after early January when the 117th Congress is sworn in, the issue won’t matter anymore.
While Democrats currently control the House of Representatives and can break ties in the Senate with the vote of vice president Kamala Harris, that situation won’t exist in 2023. In the midterm elections of 2022, Republicans won 222 seats to Democrats’ 213, taking control of the House.
The outcome of the special run-off election in Georgia between Sen. Raphael Warnock and his Republican opponent, Herschel Walker, will determine whether Democrats add to their existing majority of 50 seats to 49 or see things return to a 50/50 split.
This will be significant in terms of stimulus money because Republicans unanimously opposed President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which provided Americans with a last $1400 stimulus check after receiving $1200 and $600 from Donald Trump in the previous two years.
The chances of a fourth stimulus check are likely to be dead before they can even be approached because Republicans are likely opposed to increased spending. After all, they believe it will only increase inflation and because very few people will cross the line to support any other policies the Biden Administration and Democrats have.
Read more: Stimulus Checks Update: These States Are Dispatching Final 2022 Payments
Americans Remain Hopeful
The majority of Americans, who have been hoping for more payments and supportive of potential future measures enabling more checks to be distributed up to 63% of Americans, according to polls will probably not be pleased with this news.
Even while petrol prices are continuing to fall, on average, to $3.42 per gallon, and mortgage rates are falling for the third consecutive week to 6.49%, not everything has become less expensive.
While the Producer Price Index increased by 0.2%, the Consumer Price Index recorded a flat 0.4% increase across the board in October.
Read more: Missing Stimulus Checks: IRS Owes COVID-19 Relief to 10 Million Americans; Are You One of Them?