Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) led a group of 28 senators in a letter to U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on April 7 urging the secretary to ensure people experiencing homelessness receive coronavirus relief payments. The senators noted that individuals experiencing homelessness face significant barriers to accessing the direct stimulus payments provided in the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,” requesting that Treasury publish guidance on how individuals without permanent addresses, government-issued identifications, or bank accounts can receive the payments to which they are entitled.
“People experiencing homelessness face unique barriers to receiving the payments they are entitled to under the law,” wrote Senator Smith and her colleagues. “Many have no bank account in which they could receive a direct deposit, and no fixed address to receive a check in the mail – and if they do receive a check, fees at check cashing institutions are often exorbitantly high. They are among those most in need of the economic relief payments, but also are among the groups of individuals facing the biggest impediments to accessing those funds.”
The senators asked Secretary Mnuchin to direct Treasury to publish specific guidance on how individuals experiencing homelessness can access their economic relief payments, to work with local and national advocates on a public-awareness campaign, and to coordinate with local Continuums of Care to distribute payments. The senators also urged the secretary to extend automatic payments to individuals who do not file tax returns but already receive assistance from the federal government, including Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, and benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The letter is at: https://bit.ly/3e8txmt