Biden campaigned on a third relief bill Americans won’t see for months

Biden pledged to deliver a third stimulus check as part of a hefty $1.9 trillion relief package, but Americans might not see any extra funds until March. If Congress approves the trillion dollar bill, Biden will need to sign legislation releasing the funds. The IRS and Treasury Department would likely disburse the funds through direct deposit, mailed checks, and prepaid debit cards as they did for the second stimulus payments.

This contradicts Biden's campaign promise that he would release stimulus funds right away, if elected President. Biden told Georgia voters on the campaign trail that Americans would receive $2,000 in coronavirus stimulus checks "immediately," if voters cast their ballot for Democrats in the US Senate race. While the race did go to Jon Osoff, Biden does not appear to be authorizing the release of any funds right away.

After weeks of discussion, and a delay since May 20202, Congress authorized the release of $600 stimulus payments to qualified individuals in December. The House passed a measure increasing the payments to $2,000, but the Republican-controlled Senate blocked it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the larger sum "socialism for the rich."

In a June survey, one third of Americans who received the first stimulus check said they used their stimulus checks to pay bills like "cellphones, utilities, cable TV and rent."

"It's alarming to look at how many Americans used these funds to keep a roof over their head and pay for necessities considering the federal government has not provided clarity about another round of stimulus payments being provided in the near future," according to the report by YouGov.

As far as the second stimulus check, in November, a Yahoo Finance-Harris Poll survey asked people what they would do with it when they received it. 43 percent said they would use another check for essentials, 39 percent said they would boost savings.