Fourth Stimulus Check Update: Petition Hits 3 Million Signatures, What’s Next?

A petition calling Congress to send out $2,000 monthly stimulus checks has surpassed its 3 million signature goal as the Omicron COVID-19 variant continues to cause a surge of cases across the United States.

In 2020, Denver restaurant owner Stephanie Bonin launched the Change.org petition urging lawmakers to send out monthly stimulus checks amounting to $2,000 per American adult and $1,000 per child for the duration of the crisis. The petition reached the signature milestone Monday.

"I think that's what 3 million people are saying, which is, 'We just need certainty. We need to have something we can plan on month after month,'" Bonin told CNBC.

The milestone comes as a surge of cases caused by the highly transmissible Omicron variant is forcing some schools and small businesses to shut their operations. In response to the shutdowns, lawmakers in Congress have discussed sending out more aid, particularly for businesses.

The Economic Security Project released a report in April 2021 that found stimulus checks could help keep approximately 12 million Americans out of poverty. More rounds of relief payments could also close imbalances in poverty, income and wealth between white Americans and minority groups, the report said.

"Evidence from the last year shows stimulus checks to be the fastest and most impactful investments helping Americans get through this crisis, lifting more people out of poverty than any other single policy," it stated.

At least 21 Senate Democrats echoed the findings of the report in a 2021 letter addressed to President Joe Biden urging him to implement recurring stimulus checks for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, over 150 economists also wrote an open letter in support of recurring payments to ensure the country’s economic security.

As of Wednesday, lawmakers in Congress have yet to indicate any plans to bring another round of stimulus checks to the table. The Biden administration has also argued that millions of new jobs have been created since employment opportunities fell in early 2020.

Currently, lawmakers are focused on passing Biden’s Build Back Better initiative, which does not include provisions for more stimulus checks.