No sign of more federal stimulus checks

A Facebook user is falsely claiming that $2,000 stimulus checks were to be delivered on Jan. 19. 

A Facebook video is labeled with the caption: "$2000 January 19th - STIMULUS CHECK DELIVERY DATE!" It also carries the hashtag: "#stimuluscheckupdate2022…"  

The video contains footage of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaking about Social Security on the Senate floor, sometime during the Obama administration. The content of the video does not make a reference to economic stimulus payments for all eligible Americans. 

The video was shared on Facebook and flagged as part of that platform’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) 

Eligible Americans have received three federal stimulus payments totalling $3,200: $1,200 in April 2020, $600 in December 2020 or January 2021, and $1,400 in March 2021. 

There has indeed been public interest in a fourth stimulus payment, but no payments are imminent. CBS News reported Feb. 1 that the Biden administration has focused on infrastructure spending, and that some economists have said that the previous stimulus payments have led to inflation. 

A senior fellow with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank that  follows federal economic policy, said that more stimulus payments are not on the way. 

Congress has not enacted a fourth round of economic impact payments, also known as stimulus payments, said Janet Holtzblatt. In addition, a fourth round was not included in the Build Back Better legislation, part of Biden’s domestic agenda, which is stalled.  

Featured Fact-check

Barack Obama

stated on September 16, 2008 in Golden, Colo.

"In January, I outlined a plan to help revive our faltering economy, which formed the basis for a bipartisan stimulus package that passed the Congress."

Although there are no imminent plans for a fourth federal stimulus check, some states, such as California and Maine, plan to or have recently distributed these payments. The states have different eligibility guidelines, according to a USA Today report in December. In Arizona, a $2,000 one-time bonus was available to people who were unemployed and returned to the workforce. In January, CNBC reported that states have federal funds that they need to distribute, and those distributions could take different forms, such as paid sick or family leave. 

Another payment to Americans, the Child Tax Credit, does not appear to be coming back either. Biden said in a news conference with reporters on Jan. 19 that he is not sure he can get it into the Build Back Better legislation. Parents of children born in 2021 can still be eligible for the credit if they did not get it in 2021, according to the IRS. 

There has been no movement in Congress to authorize a fourth stimulus check amid the pandemic. Americans did not receive stimulus payments on Jan. 19, and there is no evidence that they will be distributed anytime soon. 

We rate this False.