Menendez, Booker Call for Social Security Recipients to Get CARES Act Direct Cash Assistance without Having to File Tax Return

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) today joined a group of 41 senators in expressing alarm over the guidance released by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) stating that Social Security beneficiaries would need to file tax returns in order to receive direct payments –which is in direct contradiction of the CARES Act signed into law last week– and to call for the Treasury Department and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to ensure that all Social Security beneficiaries will automatically receive the direct assistance.

“To ensure that these vulnerable individuals automatically receive stimulus payments, the CARES Act explicitly provides the Treasury Department with the authority to provide payments to seniors receiving Social Security retirement benefits and to individuals receiving Social Security disability benefits, even if these individuals do not file tax returns,” wrote the senators to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Social Security Administration Commissioner Andrew Saul.

“This [IRS] filing requirement would place a significant burden on retired seniors and individuals who experience disabilities, especially given the current unavailability of tax filing assistance from Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs during the COVID-19 crisis,” the senators continued. “We strongly urge you to ensure that economic stimulus payments are automatically sent to vulnerable seniors and individuals who experience disabilities, without these individuals needing to file a tax return.”

Joining Sens. Menendez and Booker in sending this letter were Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.), Caatherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Gary C. Peters (D-Mich.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-Maine), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).

The full text of the letters can be found here and below.

Dear Secretary Mnuchin and Commissioner Saul:

The COVID-19 public health emergency is taking a massive economic toll on families across the country. To provide immediate financial assistance to struggling individuals during this crisis, Congress passed and the President signed the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This legislation directly provides most Americans with stimulus payments to help cover necessary personal expenses.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will automatically send stimulus payments to eligible taxpayers who filed a 2018 or 2019 tax return. However, many Social Security beneficiaries, including retired seniors and individuals who experience disabilities, typically do not file tax returns. To ensure that these vulnerable individuals automatically receive stimulus payments, the CARES Act explicitly provides the Treasury Department with the authority to provide payments to seniors receiving Social Security retirement benefits and to individuals receiving Social Security disability benefits, even if these individuals do not file tax returns.

Unfortunately, on March 30, the IRS published guidance indicating that the agency may require recipients of Social Security retirement and disability benefits to file 2019 tax returns to receive stimulus payments. This filing requirement would place a significant burden on retired seniors and individuals who experience disabilities, especially given the current unavailability of tax filing assistance from Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs during the COVID-19 crisis.

Along with colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee, we strongly urge you to ensure that economic stimulus payments are automatically sent to vulnerable seniors and individuals who experience disabilities, without these individuals needing to file a tax return.

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