Over the course of the two-year-long, economically crippling coronavirus pandemic, Congress has stepped in to approve three much-needed and timely stimulus checks to most eligible Americans.

But ever since the American Rescue Plan last spring green-lighted the most recent third direct stimulus payments, there only has been plenty of talk but no action on the part of the White House and Congress.

Amid this inaction in Washington, Americans are still trying to navigate their way through the ongoing health crisis and unrelenting high-inflationary pressures, which continue to wreak havoc on the pocketbooks of ordinary, hardworking citizens.

Unofficial 4^th Stimulus Check

There is, however, potentially good news on the way soon for many Americans who have children. As reported by NJ.com, the new plan, proposed by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), would essentially bring back the enhanced child tax credit—seen by many Americans as an unofficial version of a recurring fourth stimulus check—that came to a halt at the end of December.

“When people started receiving stimulus checks at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, many parents also received up to $300 per child as part of the enhanced child tax credit of 2021,” the site writes.

“However, Congress has not moved forward with pushing additional stimulus checks, and President Joe Biden’s plan to extend the child tax credit through 2022 failed in the Senate,” it continues.

Under Romney’s proposal—known as the Family Security Act—eligible families with children up to 5 years of age would receive $350 per child and families with children older than that up to 17 would be in line to get $250 per child.

NJ.com noted that “the measure would also allow expecting parents to begin receiving payments four months before their baby’s due date.” In addition, there will be income thresholds and the “monthly payments for families would max out at $1,250.”

Stimulus Check Work Requirement

In likely an effort to garner more bipartisan support, there will also be a work requirement attached to the payments, which also has been pushed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who essentially scuttled the Build Back Better legislation that aimed to extend the enhanced credits by another year.

“American families are facing greater financial strain, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, and marriage and birth rates are at an all-time low,” Romney said in a statement.

“On top of that, we have not comprehensively reformed our family support system in nearly three decades, and our changing economy has left millions of families behind. Now is the time to renew our commitment to families to help them meet the challenges they face as they take on most important work any of us will ever do—raising our society’s children. This proposal offers a path toward greater security for America’s families by consolidating the many complicated programs to create a monthly cash benefit for them, without adding to the deficit,” he continued.

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.