Congress still ‘a long ways away’ from deal on bill that would include more stimulus checks

While Congress debates, a Fortune-SurveyMonkey poll finds 80% of U.S. adults support a second round of stimulus checks.

Our mission to help you navigate the new normal is fueled by subscribers. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today.

An overwhelming majority of Americans want Congress to put political divides aside and send out a second round of stimulus checks.

A Fortune-SurveyMonkey poll* of 2,802 U.S. adults between July 17 and 21 finds 80% of U.S. adults support the federal government issuing a second round of stimulus checks. That’s up from 54% of U.S. adults who supported a second of stimulus checks back when Fortune-SurveyMonkey polled U.S. adults between May 20 and 26.

Both Democratic and Republican leaders support sending another round of $1,200 stimulus checks to Americans, however, any such proposal would be passed as part of a more expansion stimulus package. And the other items of such a bill, like state funding and expired enhanced unemployment benefits, are what the two sides are arguing about.

“We’re a long ways away from striking any kind of deal,” Mark Meadows, White House chief of staff, told reporters on Tuesday. Party leaders from both parties made it clear Tuesday little progress has been made in negotiations this week.

Issuing a second stimulus check has a majority of support in every demographic that Fortune-SurveyMonkey looked at. Among Republicans, 67% support a second round of checks, while 92% of Democrats and 86% of Independents do.

White House officials have suggested the distribution of the second round of checks could be sped up, given the system is already in place. However, until the bill passes and the U.S. Department of the Treasury issues guidance, nothing is certain. But it’s safe to assume that when and if the parties can hammer out a deal, the checks for many Americans could come as early as two weeks after President Donald Trump signs it into law.

*Methodology: The Fortune-SurveyMonkey poll was conducted among a national sample of 2,802 adults in the U.S. between July 17-21. This survey’s modeled error estimate is plus or minus 3 percentage points. The findings have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography.

More must-read finance coverage from Fortune:

• VC icon Alan Patricof and SoulCycle vet Abby Levy launch fund to invest in aging
• When will the pandemic end? Not before 2022, ex-U.S. surgeon general warns
• Women are more worried about layoffs than their male coworkers
• PPP part 3? Everything you need to know about the proposed expansion of the small business loan program
• Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan on how business can measure stakeholder capitalism