The Treasury Department has partially reversed their initial decision to throw up unnecessary bureaucratic hoops for seniors obtaining the $1,200 one-time stimulus payment. Originally the administration was going to require them, as well as disabled people on Supplemental Security Income and veterans receiving pensions, to file tax returns in order to get the check. They've relented following mass outrage, at least for seniors. But not for SSI recipients and veterans, unless they also receive Social Security.
"This is entirely unacceptable," Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works, said in a statement Thursday. "Our government has the tools to send these groups, who are among the poorest and most vulnerable in America, their benefits automatically. It must reverse this part of its misguided policy, as well, and prioritize these payments, too." Rep. Jan Schakowsky and her fellow House Democrats agree. They are calling on the Treasury to "IMMEDIATELY ensure all older Americans, can automatically get the stimulus checks they need to survive the #COVID19 crisis."
Sign the petition: Stimulus checks must not leave out disabled people and veterans.
"They're still requiring SSI recipients and veterans receiving pensions to file a tax return before receiving their #coronavirus stimulus payments,” Schakowsky tweeted. "That burden is unacceptable." The burden is very real because right now in-person assistance isn't available. Right now the online filing system at the IRS isn't allowing people to file online because they don't have taxable income.
Sue Bohl, a 63-year-old Social Security Disability Insurance recipient in De Pere, Wisconsin, told HuffPost that she tried filing on Friday, but wasn't able to complete it because of that taxable income glitch. "Since my printer isn't working, I'm not able to print it out to send it in," she said. "It's hard for me, because I don't think it's smart to be going out to do anything right now, so I'm stuck!" As an SSDI beneficiary, at least Bohl should be okay—she's getting Social Security, so the reversal from the Treasury covers her.
But there are still many enrolled in SSI and veterans benefits who shouldn't have to face this mess. It's not a hurdle that the Treasury can't overcome, says Chuck Marr, a tax expert at the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "Treasury and the Social Security Administration and the Veterans Administration can match data to determine those SSI and veterans beneficiaries who are not part of a tax filing unit and then issue them automatic payments," Marr told HuffPost.