Members of Congress and Trump administration officials agreed last week to return to the negotiating table in hopes of reaching an agreement on the stimulus package, including Stimulus Check 2

Appearing yesterday (September 27) on CNN's "State of the Union" program, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that Democrats believe they can reach an agreement with the White House

"I believe we can reach an agreement," Pelosi told CNN's Jake Tapper

The two sides broke off talks in early August after failing to reach a compromise on the total cost of the second bill, and only spoke by phone until last week

House Democrats passed a $34 trillion stimulus package (the HEROES Act) in May, but Senate Republicans and administration officials balked at several specific provisions in the bill as well as overall spending

Over the summer, Pelosi reduced the Democratic request to $22 trillion, and the White House indicated its willingness to spend $15 trillion (and possibly more) on a second round of stimulus However, both sides failed to close the $700 billion gap, and Senate Republicans were unable to make any progress

As Election Day approached, Pelosi, under pressure from other lawmakers, promised to reopen the door for an agreement and, to that end, to keep the House in session and allow lawmakers to vote remotely if necessary

"I'd rather have a deal that puts money in people's pockets than a bunch of rhetoric," Pelosi said

"What we're offering is a proposal that we'll negotiate within a time frame and a dollar amount to get the job done"

If you have not yet received your first stimulus check, provided by the CARES Act passed last spring, you still have a few weeks to file a claim using the IRS's non-filer tool

As of early September, nearly 9 million Americans (most of them seniors and heads of low-income households who typically do not file tax returns) were still waiting for their first $1,200 payment

The IRS last week began notifying those who may be eligible to receive their unpaid checks If you received a letter from the IRS, or simply think you may be eligible for an unpaid check, you have until October 15 to enter your information into the IRSgov tool to see if you are eligible

If you are eligible, you can enter your bank account details to receive your direct deposit If not, you will need to wait for a paper check to be mailed to you

Some recipients also miss out on alimony payments due to miscalculation of child support To claim these payments, use the same undocumented recipient tool by September 30