White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki appeared to cast doubt about the possibility of sending out more coronavirus stimulus checks to financially struggling Americans during a press briefing on Tuesday.

When asked if there would be another round of direct payments, she responded: “We’ll see what members of Congress propose, but those are not free.”

To date, Congress has already approved the delivery of three stimulus cash payments to most Americans—a $1,200 check in April 2020, $600 in December, and the current $1,400 payments under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

Instead, Psaki touted the potential reach of the expanded child tax credit under the $1.9 trillion legislation, which makes families now eligible to net as much as $3,600 per year for a child under the age of six and up to $3,000 for children between six and seventeen.

This means that for a family headed by a couple earning under $150,000—or an individual earning below $75,000—they are eligible to get their hands on $250 or $300 payment every month.

To receive the funds, the Internal Revenue Service has told eligible parents that they must file a 2020 tax return by the extended Tax Day deadline of May 17—as the agency will need that information to be able to deliver the tax credits in a timely fashion.

Biden’s newest $1.8 trillion economic proposal—known as the American Families Plan—seeks to make those recurring monthly payments last through the year 2025.

“If passed, the families of tens of millions of children will continue to get regular payments,” Psaki said.

“Obviously, we’re continuing to evaluate what their needs are—to continue to get the pandemic under control, put people back to work, but we think that’s a proposal with a long-term benefit,” she added.

There are many Americans, though, who are still holding out hope that the child tax credits and direct payments will become permanent—and this has the backing of some Washington lawmakers.

“For our economy to fully recover from this pandemic, we must finally acknowledge that workers have families, and caregiving responsibilities are real,” said the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Rep. Richard Neal, who recently introduced a bill that aims to extend the child tax credit permanently.

In late March, more than twenty Democratic senators pressed Biden to include recurring direct stimulus checks in his “Build Back Better” legislation.

“We urge you to include recurring direct payments and automatic unemployment insurance extensions tied to economic conditions in your Build Back Better long-term economic plan,” the letter stated.

“This crisis is far from over, and families deserve certainty that they can put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads,” it added.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.