WASHINGTON, DC – Following calls from Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) along with Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the U.S. Treasury Department announced that Social Security recipients will automatically receive direct cash payments as a result of the bipartisan COVID-19 stimulus passed last week without having to file tax returns. Yesterday, Duckworth and Durbin joined Hassan, Brown and 39 of their colleagues in raising alarms over guidance that the IRS issued earlier this week that said that Social Security beneficiaries would need to file tax returns in order to receive direct cash payments. This directly contradicted Congressional intent in drafting the bipartisan stimulus, which had made clear that the Treasury Department had the authority to send automatic direct cash assistance to Social Security beneficiaries regardless of whether they file taxes.
“This was the exact right thing for the Trump Administration to do and they never should have said otherwise,” said Duckworth. “I joined my colleagues in calling for them to reverse and I’m glad they made the right decision. With this reversal, the Trump Administration will no longer be forcing this frustrating burden on retired seniors and individuals with disabilities.”
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“This is the right decision and I’m glad the IRS is taking our advice. Forcing Social Security recipients to file tax returns would have been an unnecessary and burdensome delay. The American people need relief now, and the sooner we can get this cash into their hands, the better,” Durbin said.
