Letter to Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury - Van Hollen, Merkley, Colleagues Slam Trump Administration for Shortchanging Americans' Direct Payments Amid Pandemic

Letter

Dear Secretary Mnuchin:

We write to express our disappointment in the recent announcement that due to errors made by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the disbursement of the Economic Impact Payments, many American families with dependents did not receive the full amount owed to them. These families -- who were told by their federal government to rely on that assistance -- will be expected to wait for the error to be corrected through their 2020 tax returns.

This is simply unacceptable and we expect the IRS to send out missing payments immediately.

Across the country, families are awaiting financial assistance to meet their basic needs, including rent or mortgage payments, credit card bills, and food. The insensitivity of the IRS statement underlies this Administration's clear misunderstanding of what this money will be used for, and the urgency by which accurate payments must get out the door.

We also ask the IRS to answer the following questions within five business days so that we can learn more about the details surrounding this error.

How many Americans have received an inaccurate payment?
If that number is not readily available, what are the administrative costs of determining that number?
Does the IRS have an existing process of quality control for checks that have been sent?
We recognize that with the quick work expected from the IRS, additional administrative hurdles are inevitable. That said, we cannot expect Americans who are hurting to simply sit with that error for another year. We invite you to work with Congress to ensure the needs of the IRS are met, so that the American people get the assistance they are relying on in a timely manner.

Sincerely,