House members return to work this week, and some are hopeful that discussions on a fourth stimulus package will resume.

The House has been out of session since late May for district and committee work, but will vote until the July 4 holiday weekend. So far, lawmakers have not taken meaningful action on further stimulus payments, despite calls for continued relief from some lawmakers and advocacy groups.

Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee sent a letter to President Biden last month requesting that extended unemployment benefits and recurring direct payments be added to the American Family Plan, although they did not cite specific amounts. The letter was similar to one submitted earlier this year by another group of Democrats from both the House and Senate.

The administration has not answered questions about additional stimulus since early May, when White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, "We'll see what members of Congress propose, but it's not free."

This suggested that the White House, or President Joe Biden's administration, would not draft a bill containing a fourth stimulus package, as it did with the third stimulus package. Instead, it will be up to Congress to decide whether to bring in a further stimulus package.

And now that the House is in session for the first time since May 20, we are closely watching for updates and comments related to a fourth stimulus package.

Left-leaning think tanks cited by Democrats suggest that additional stimulus could lift more Americans out of poverty.

However, some conservative analysts say that continued stimulus, including continued unemployment insurance, could discourage people from returning to work, especially in low-wage jobs such as restaurants and manufacturing; Republican governors in 22 states have ended federal supplemental unemployment benefits due to labor shortages.

According to Yahoo Finance, data from the University of Michigan show that the number of households experiencing economic hardship and food shortages dropped significantly during the spring. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve said this week that it is likely to raise interest rates sooner than expected, signaling confidence in the economic recovery.