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Will you get a stimulus check by December 31? - CBS News
Nov 26, 2020 1 min, 36 secs
government to approve a second coronavirus relief package, with Congress adjourned until next week and the Biden administration focusing on assuming office in January. .

So where does that leave Americans anxiously awaiting another federal stimulus check — the cash payments that were initially distributed this spring?

To be sure, lawmakers could still pass a scaled-down stimulus bill when they return to Washington, D.C., on November 30, but most economists believe it's unlikely to match the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was signed into law in March and provided $1,200 checks to most Americans. .

The number of Americans applying for jobless aid rose for the second week in a row, a sign that the economic recovery is losing speed.

Rather than try to break the months-long impasse on stimulus funding, experts think Congress is more likely to focus on passing legislation to finance the federal government after December 11, averting a government shutdown.

Deutsche Bank economists Peter Hooper and Matthew Luzzetti think Congress could thrash out a slimmed-down stimulus package early next year.

House Democrats had passed an updated Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus and Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act on October 1, but the $2.2 trillion bill ran into opposition from Republican lawmakers. .

Among the main disagreements: Whether the federal government should help cash-strapped cities and states weather the massive economic blow caused by the pandemic.

The crisis could cause a $434 billion federal budget shortfall through 2022 under the most severe scenario, which would include a resurgence in the virus and a lack of more stimulus aid, according to Moody's Analytics.

The HEROES Act would have provided more than $400 billion in funding for state and local governments, but Republicans took issue with that aid, including President Donald Trump, who has objected to what he calls "bailouts" for states helmed by Democrats.

More than 125 economists this month signed an open letter urging lawmakers to earmark for money for stimulus checks. 

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