When will second stimulus check arrive? Democrats push Pelosi to resume talks

Nancy Pelosi in front of draped American flag.
(Image credit: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) in Brussels in February 2019.)

Democrats and Trump administration officials have yet to restart stimulus check 2 negotiations since talks fizzled out two weeks ago, but some House lawmakers are urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to get moving toward a deal.  

Bloomberg reports that a group of 17 House members, part of what's known as the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, have signed onto a letter putting pressure on Pelosi and the party leaders of the House and Senate, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), to work toward a consensus when the House returns to Washington this weekend. 

"As the House prepares to vote this weekend on a bill to protect the United States Postal Service, we urge you to restart bipartisan, bicameral negotiations on a fifth Covid-19 relief package that is commensurate with the scale of this public health and economic crisis," the lawmakers wrote. 

The letter urges Pelosi and the leaders of the two chambers to continue paying federal unemployment benefits (one of the stickier points of the negotiations so far) at a "sufficient" level as well as send another round of direct payments to eligible Americans. 

House lawmakers passed the HEROES Act in May. That bill would provide $1,200 payments to each eligible American and their dependents of any age (up to $6,000 per family), but Democrats have been unable to reconcile the total cost of the proposal with the White House and Senate. 

Senate conflicts over stimulus check 2

Senate Republicans are equally — or perhaps even more — fractured. In July, McConnell introduced the HEALS Act, which also would send another round of $1,200 direct payments to Americans who qualified under the CARES Act as well as expand benefits for dependents. 

Meanwhile, another group of GOP senators proposed a hybrid bill known as the Coronavirus Assistance for American Families Act, which reduced stimulus check 2 to $1,000 per qualifying individual at a lower income cap. 

Senate Republicans are also floating a "skinny" stimulus package that continues federal unemployment benefits at a reduced rate but does not provide another direct payment. 

Other lawmakers have expressed ongoing concern about too-high spending on a second stimulus bill, and Senate proposals remain at odds with those from other negotiators.

"We're pretty far apart right now," McConnell said on Thursday. "I'm hoping we can get past that, but I can't predict today." 

Meanwhile, 120 House Democrats urged Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steney Hoyer (D-Maryland) to consider passing a Democratic "skinny bill" promoted by another moderate group, the New Democrat Coalition.

That bill would also not provide new stimulus checks, but would resume the federal unemployment supplement at the original $600 weekly rate.

Emily Long

Emily Long is a Utah-based freelance writer who covers consumer technology, privacy and personal finance for Tom's Guide. She has been reporting and writing for nearly 10 years, and her work has appeared in Wirecutter, Lifehacker, NBC BETTER and CN Traveler, among others. When she's not working, you can find her trail running, teaching and practicing yoga, or studying for grad school — all fueled by coffee, obviously.