Fourth Stimulus Check Legislation Still Stalled in Congress – U.S. legislators can’t agree on whether the United States government should issue additional stimulus checks to taxpayers amid the rising costs of food, gas, and consumer goods.
The Biden White House has not publicly expressed any interest in issuing additional stimulus checks, even during the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. While prices are going up, unemployment has gradually fallen since the economy fully reopened.
What is the Legislation?
In March of this year, Rep. Mike Thompson of California, a Democrat, announced that he would introduce legislation that would grant Americans energy rebate checks. The bill, which he titled the Gas Rebate Act of 2022, was co-sponsored by Reps. Lauren Underwood and John Larson.
The aim of the legislation was not to provide money to replace lost earnings but to instead help Americans pay for gas as costs continue to rise.
“Americans are feeling the impact at the pump of Vladimir Putin‘s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and right now we must work together on commonsense policy solutions to ease the financial burden that my constituents are feeling,” Thompson said in a statement at the time.
Should the bill pass, it would provide an energy rebate check worth $100 to Americans earning less than $75,000 if they file their taxes individually, and for joint filers earning less than $150,000. The check would be reduced for single filers earning up to $80,000 and joint filers earning up to $160,000. Nobody earning more would be eligible for the check.
Stimulus Check – Where is the Legislation Now?
After Thompson introduced the bill, it was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
The Committee on Ways and Means is the main tax-writing committee in the House of Representatives that is responsible for overseeing legislation relating to taxation, tariffs, and revenue-raising measures. It also oversees legislation relating to unemployment insurance and social security.
Since March, the bill has not left the committee and remains stalled.
That doesn’t mean the legislation isn’t going anywhere, though. Rep. Thompson remains “committed” to working with Congressional leadership to find a path that will bring the bill to the House floor where legislators will be able to vote to advance the legislation or kill it.
Whether legislators will support the legislation is yet to be seen, but U.S. President Joe Biden decided against a similar plan in March. The White House initially considered sending pre-paid cards that could be spent at gas stations but scrapped the plans in favor of working to drive down costs instead.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
