Third stimulus check passed and will be signed by President Biden; How soon might you receive a $1,400 check?

The Senate approved President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package Saturday, directing a third round of stimulus checks to most Americans. That's prompting questions about when the checks might land in bank accounts, especially for those who are coping with job or income loss.

The bill will return to the House early next week for final approval, given that the Senate and House versions of the relief bill have some differences, and then head to Mr. Biden for his signature. After the bill is signed into law, the IRS could begin delivering the checks within days to one week, based on the timeframe for the previous round of checks — potentially as early as the weekend of March 13.

"By next weekend, a couple making less than $160,000 could well have $2,800 deposited into their checking account," Chris Krueger of Cowen & Co. said in an analyst note before the Senate approved the bill, which he had expected would occur this weekend.

The passage of the spending bill was heralded by anti-poverty and unemployment experts, who said that the $1,400 checks as well as other provisions — such as an extension of the $300 per-week extra jobless aid and an expansion of the Child Tax Credit — will help families pay their bills and lift children out of poverty. Almost half of Americans are still experiencing financial pain one year after the pandemic shuttered the economy and caused massive layoffs, according to new research from the Pew Research Center.

"Working families will get $1,400 per individual from a third stimulus check, plus they will benefit from a muscled-up child tax credit of $3,000 per child," noted Andrew Stettner, an expert on unemployment at the Century Foundation, in an emailed statement Saturday. "That is real aid that can help reverse the unprecedented economic inequities laid bare and exacerbated by the pandemic."

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