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Lawmakers Urge IRS to Speed Up Relief Payment Delivery

JAN. 11, 2021

Lawmakers Urge IRS to Speed Up Relief Payment Delivery

DATED JAN. 11, 2021
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Authors
    Rochester, Rep. Lisa Blunt
    McKinley, Rep. David B.
    Johnson, Rep. Henry C., Jr.
    Fitzpatrick, Rep. Brian K.
    Hinson, Rep. Ashley
    Case, Rep. Ed
    Pingree, Rep. Chellie
    Armstrong, Rep. Kelly
    Meng, Rep. Grace
    Lee, Rep. Barbara
    Hastings, Alcee L.
    Kuster, Rep. Ann M.
    Franklin, Rep. C. Scott
    Ryan, Rep. Timothy John
    Cohen, Rep. Steve
    Kim, Rep. Andy
    O'Halleran, Rep. Tom
    Wild, Rep. Susan
    DeFazio, Rep. Peter A.
    Price, Rep. David E.
    Keller, Rep. Fred
    Cawthorn, Rep. Madison
    Grijalva, Rep. Raúl M.
    Mooney, Rep. Alexander X.
    McGovern, Rep. James P.
    Upton, Rep. Fred
    Crow, Rep. Jason
    Norton, Del. Eleanor Holmes
    Cicilline, Rep. David N.
    LaMalfa, Rep. Doug
    Balderson, Rep. Troy
    Thompson, Rep. Bennie G.
    Cárdenas, Rep. Tony
    Thompson, Rep. Glenn
    Adams, Rep. Alma
    Rice, Rep. Kathleen M.
    Garbarino, Rep. Andrew R.
    Hayes, Rep. Jahana
    Lamb, Rep. Conor
    Bilirakis, Rep. Gus M.
    Pappas, Rep. Chris
    Smith, Rep. Adam
  • Institutional Authors
    U.S. House of Representatives
  • Subject Area/Tax Topics
  • Jurisdictions
  • Tax Analysts Document Number
    2021-1109
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    2021 TNTF 7-26

January 11, 2021

The Honorable Charles P. Rettig
Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Ave NS
Washington, DC 20224

Dear Commissioner Rettig:

We appreciate your work to quickly get a second round of Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) out to the American people. However, we write to express concern about the IRS's decision to require people who have not received their EIP to wait until they file their 2020 taxes. Several of our constituents have reached out to raise these concerns as well. This decision by the IRS adds bureaucratic hurdles that make access to these payments difficult and leaves people with no option to access financial relief to address immediate financial obligations. Our constituents are entitled to receive these direct payments immediately. Instead, they have been asked to delay receiving these payments by at least several weeks until they receive proper tax documents, file their taxes, and receive payment. In addition, the IRS is advising Americans to file their taxes electronically to receive their EIP. Meanwhile, many Americans do not have the resources to file their taxes if being asked to do so electronically. At a time when millions of Americans are financially vulnerable and need immediate help due to the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it is vital that the IRS does everything in its power to get these payments out to the people who need them most without delay.

On December 21, 2020, Congress passed the latest COVID-19 relief package, which included $600 direct payments to nearly all Americans. These direct payments have garnered bipartisan support because they are one of the quickest ways to get financial relief directly into the pockets of the American people. Unfortunately, the IRS's decision to direct people who have not received their EIPs to wait to file their 2020 taxes would delay getting these checks out to people as soon as possible. Further, the IRS is still processing 2019 tax returns, and we are concerned that this backlog could further delay taxpayers from receiving their second EIP if they wait to receive their direct payment through their 2020 tax return.

Given the financial urgency that millions of Americans are currently facing during a global health pandemic, we urge the IRS provide Americans options to submit the direct payment information directly to the IRS, whether by submitting their bank information through a secure portal, or by submitting their mailing address so that they may receive a check in the mail. Additionally, we respectfully request that the IRS report recommendations to Congress to improve the accessibility of EIPs for future rounds of these direct payments no later than Friday, January 29, 2021.

People need financial relief now, and we must act swiftly to get these checks into the hands of people who need them most.

Sincerely,

Lisa Blunt Rochester
Member of Congress

David B. McKinley, P.E.
Member of Congress

Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr.
Member of Congress

Brian Fitzpatrick
Member of Congress

Ashley Hinson
Member of Congress

Ed Case
Member of Congress

Chellie Pingree
Member of Congress

Kelly Armstrong
Member of Congress

Grace Meng
Member of Congress

Barbara Lee
Member of Congress

Alcee L. Hastings
Member of Congress

Ann McLane Kuster
Member of Congress

Scott Franklin
Member of Congress

Tim Ryan
Member of Congress

Steve Cohen
Member of Congress

Andy Kim
Member of Congress

Tom O'Halleran
Member of Congress

Susan Wild
Member of Congress

Peter A. DeFazio
Member of Congress

David Price
Member of Congress

Fred Keller
Member of Congress

Madison Cawthorn
Member of Congress

Raúl M. Grijalva
Member of Congress

Alex X. Mooney
Member of Congress

James P. McGovern
Member of Congress

Fred Upton
Member of Congress

Jason Crow
Member of Congress

Eleanor Holmes Norton
Member of Congress

David N. Cicilline
Member of Congress

Doug LaMalfa
Member of Congress

Troy Balderson
Member of Congress

Bennie G. Thompson
Member of Congress

Tony Cárdenas
Member of Congress

Glenn “GT” Thompson
Member of Congress

Alma S. Adams
Member of Congress

Kathleen M. Rice
Member of Congress

Andrew Garbarino
Member of Congress

Jahana Hayes
Member of Congress

Conor Lamb
Member of Congress

Gus M. Bilirakis
Member of Congress

Chris Pappas
Member of Congress

Adam Smith
Member of Congress

DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Authors
    Rochester, Rep. Lisa Blunt
    McKinley, Rep. David B.
    Johnson, Rep. Henry C., Jr.
    Fitzpatrick, Rep. Brian K.
    Hinson, Rep. Ashley
    Case, Rep. Ed
    Pingree, Rep. Chellie
    Armstrong, Rep. Kelly
    Meng, Rep. Grace
    Lee, Rep. Barbara
    Hastings, Alcee L.
    Kuster, Rep. Ann M.
    Franklin, Rep. C. Scott
    Ryan, Rep. Timothy John
    Cohen, Rep. Steve
    Kim, Rep. Andy
    O'Halleran, Rep. Tom
    Wild, Rep. Susan
    DeFazio, Rep. Peter A.
    Price, Rep. David E.
    Keller, Rep. Fred
    Cawthorn, Rep. Madison
    Grijalva, Rep. Raúl M.
    Mooney, Rep. Alexander X.
    McGovern, Rep. James P.
    Upton, Rep. Fred
    Crow, Rep. Jason
    Norton, Del. Eleanor Holmes
    Cicilline, Rep. David N.
    LaMalfa, Rep. Doug
    Balderson, Rep. Troy
    Thompson, Rep. Bennie G.
    Cárdenas, Rep. Tony
    Thompson, Rep. Glenn
    Adams, Rep. Alma
    Rice, Rep. Kathleen M.
    Garbarino, Rep. Andrew R.
    Hayes, Rep. Jahana
    Lamb, Rep. Conor
    Bilirakis, Rep. Gus M.
    Pappas, Rep. Chris
    Smith, Rep. Adam
  • Institutional Authors
    U.S. House of Representatives
  • Subject Area/Tax Topics
  • Jurisdictions
  • Tax Analysts Document Number
    2021-1109
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    2021 TNTF 7-26
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