It’s been three years since the first COVID-19 stimulus checks were distributed to Americans and more than a year since the last payment, but talks of a fourth round are emerging again as congressional support grows.

Over the course of the pandemic, the federal government sent out three direct payments to provide financial relief for millions of struggling Americans, including an expanded child tax credit (CTC) that offered families some economic wiggle room and is credited with briefly cutting child poverty by as much as 30 percent. Although those expansions expired at the end of 2021, there is now renewed interest coming from both sides of the aisle in reviving those monthly checks.

A top issue for Democrats, proposals to bring back the CTC are widely supported by Democrats in both chambers. In the House, 210 Democrats have already signed onto new legislation aiming to increase the $300 monthly payments to $2,000 for the month that a new baby is born. The newborn bonus is not included in the companion bill signed by over 40 Democratic senators, but the Senate version does make the CTC and the earned income tax credit for low-income workers permanent.