A popular petition in favor of another round of stimulus checks reached its goal of three million signatures a few weeks ago.

But momentum hasn’t stopped even after reaching that impressive milestone. As of this writing, the petition has tacked on roughly another thirty thousand more signatures.

The next target for the petition is 4.5 million signatures. If that is eventually reached, it would make the petition one of the top signed ever on Change.org.

The petition was organized by Denver-area restaurant owner Stephanie Bonin, who was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. It calls on Congress to support cash-strapped families with a $2,000 payment for adults and a $1,000 payment for children until the already nearly two-year-long health crisis ends.

Bonin wrote that she is “one of millions of Americans who fear for my financial future because of this coronavirus crisis.”

“With businesses and schools closing across the country to control the spread of this virus, many people have already lost their jobs. Others are being forced to stay home. This is catastrophic for working families like mine,” she wrote.

Other Calls for Stimulus Checks

Bonin’s petition is one of several circulating online. The second-most popular petition was launched by the Senior Citizens League, which has been campaigning to press Congress to quickly approve a fourth round of stimulus checks to Social Security program recipients.

“Social Security benefits are one of the few types of income in retirement adjusted for inflation. But soaring inflation has taken a toll on household finances of retired and disabled Social Security recipients,” reads the petition.

“I strongly urge you that now is the time that you must support an emergency $1,400.00 stimulus check to Social Security recipients,” it concludes.

States Take Action

Despite the lack of any meaningful action by the White House and Congress regarding more stimulus checks, some states have stepped in to issue their own direct payments to residents. Some of those states include Maine, California, Maryland, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Tennessee.

California recently completed the disbursement another round of Golden State stimulus checks of $1,100 to residents who earned less than $75,000 last year, but Governor Gavin Newsom did not dismiss the idea that more stimulus payments could be approved in the future.

“We expect in the May revise language when I update the budget that we are likely to have an additional rebate to the taxpayers,” Newsom said in January.

In addition, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz recently announced a plan to provide $700 million in direct payments to state residents. This means that 2.7 million Minnesota households are in line to receive a $175 or $350 check.

“To continue growing Minnesota’s economy, we must invest in the people who made it strong in the first place,” Walz said in a statement.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Washington state-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.

Image: Reuters.