With negotiations over the next round of coronavirus relief legislation, including a second round of stimulus, stalled in Congress, interest may be shifting to what happens if the additional stimulus is not enacted until after Election Day.

Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden has already said he would support a massive stimulus package "a hell of a lot bigger" than the $2.2 trillion CARES Act Trump signed this March.

As Politico suggests, the newly elected Biden will likely face pressure from the left in his party to spend significantly more than the proposals currently on the table and send more money to Americans, especially if Democrats win both the House and Senate.

Biden has already proposed additional direct payments to families. Biden's recently announced policy to extend the child tax credit would allow families with children to opt for a monthly check for $250 to $300 (up to $3,600 depending on the age of the child) instead of waiting for the funds to be deducted from their next tax return.

The Democrats' upcoming proposal may approach or exceed the $3.4 trillion HEROES Act. The bill, passed by the House in May but ignored so far by the Senate, would reauthorize $1,200 checks to eligible Americans as well as resume federal unemployment benefit assistance through January 2021.

President Trump has wavered on additional stimulus spending in recent months. In discussions with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other Democrats, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has kept the administration's spending stance significantly lower than the proposed HEROES bill. [Currently, the Democrats have $2.2 trillion and the White House has $1.5 trillion, but they cannot close the $700 billion gap. But even a lower figure may be too high for many budget-minded Senate Republicans, who balked at the party's proposed $1.1 trillion HEALS Act.

However, President Trump last week expressed support for a $1.5 to $2 trillion bill proposed by the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus. Bridging the divide between Democrats and the White House, the spending package includes stimulus checks2, funding for state and local governments, and federal unemployment benefits below the traditional $600 per week.

Trump also tweeted that Republicans should "aim for higher numbers" in the stimulus package, though he himself did not cite any numbers.

While all sides, including Senate Republicans, initially agreed on the benefits of a second direct payment to eligible taxpayers, several proposals have dropped the benefit. For example, the Senate recently failed to pass a nearly symbolic "skinny" bill focused on a scaled-down federal unemployment program and corporate responsibility protections.

Despite President Trump's tweets and the Problem Solvers bill, there has been no meaningful movement on a second stimulus bill in recent weeks. Lawmakers may be working toward additional spending, with moderates pushing leaders to take action, but the next steps may be largely left to Pelosi.