What is standing between you and your $1,400 stimulus payment?

Government officials are working quickly to pass The American Rescue plan, a proposed $1.9 trillion pandemic aid package. The plan calls for a number of beneficial measures such as,

• A third round of stimulus payments totaling up to $1,400
• Funding for public health support and vaccine distribution
• Increased minimum wage
• Enhancements to the unemployment system

**However, there are things that need to happen before you can see the proposed $1,400 stimulus checks. **

Congress must vote to pass the stimulus

Before the coronavirus relief deal can be passed, Congress must come to an agreement upon what is written in the plan.

• The Senate must first debate the plan and propose any changes or amendments before voting. If the majority vote in favor, it moves to the House of Representatives to go through a similar process of debating and voting.

• The House of Representatives won’t be in session until February 1, but the plan is to bring the COVID relief plan to the floor as soon as possible. Once the House is able to debate and vote, both houses have to agree on the same version of the proposed bill before it gets passed on to the president for their signature.

• If the proposed plan is unable to attract enough support from both parties, there will be an opportunity to pass it through the budget reconciliation process or by eliminating the legislative filibuster.

President must sign for the IRS to distribute stimulus payments

Once House and Senate come to an agreement and the plan has been approved, it is then sent to the president. If the president approves the legislation, it will be signed into law.

From there, the IRS can distribute the stimulus money to qualified individuals through direct deposit, mailed checks, and prepaid debit cards. The IRS was able to process between 5 million and 7 million a week with the first stimulus check. Meaning if the correct protocols are in place, the IRS could potentially ship out third stimulus checks within days and weeks, rather than weeks and months of the president's signature.

Interested in keeping up with the latest stimulus news? Follow our #stimulus topic.