Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have shown some support for a second stimulus package. However, there are four obstacles standing in the way of that happening right now.
- Disagreement over the cost of a bill
Lawmakers are becoming concerned over how much coronavirus relief packages are costing. - Numerous competing proposals
There are over half a dozen proposals all with different ideas of what the package should include. - Conflict over ITIN holders
The first payment was only available to those with social security numbers. Some want to change that requirement in the second round. - A short timeline
The Senate goes on break from July 3 – July 20 and again from August 8 to September 8, which doesn’t leave much time.
“Lawmakers very well could overcome these obstacles and provide another COVID-19 check — especially if there’s more bad economic news coming down the pipeline, or if the number of COVID-19 cases spikes and fears of a second wave increase. That’s far from guaranteed, though, as there are serious and fundamental disagreements among lawmakers on how to proceed.”