An inspector general’s report reveals that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) handed out as much as $64 million in stimulus funding to dead people after Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law.
Just The News reports that the massive oversight was due to a computer error that the IRS was aware of but did not fix at the time. Ultimately, nearly 45,000 total payments were sent to Americans with deceased dependents who died before January 1st, 2021.
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The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that 2.65 million illegal immigrants have Social Security numbers and, because of their income threshold and number of children they have, are eligible to receive federal stimulus checks.
In a new report, CIS estimates that illegal immigrants could receive an estimated $4.38 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 passed by Democrats along party lines.
Two weeks ago, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said that illegal immigrants would be receiving $1,400 checks through the legislation and introduced an amendment to stop it. Democrats rejected the amendment.
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The U.S. retail sales were much higher than economists projected in January, ending a multi-month streak of underperformance, according to the Commerce Department.
Retail sales increased 5.3% and totaled $568.2 billion in January, according to the Department of Commerce report released Wednesday. Economists had predicted retail sales to increase by 1.2%, The New York Times reported.
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A Hill-Harris X poll found 75% of voters said the $600 stimulus checks were “too little,” the Hill reported Monday.
The poll was done from Dec. 30 until Jan. 3 and 15% said the checks were the right amount while eight percent said the amount was excessive, according to The Hill. Most from political parties were in agreement that the $600 wasn’t enough, with 77% of Democrats and independents and 71% of Republicans in agreement.
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A second round of stimulus checks, this time in the amount of $600, is being sent out this week, the U.S. Treasury Department said Wednesday.
Referred to as economic impact payments, the $600 check individuals will receive is part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, a bill President Donald Trump signed Sunday.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced legislation authorizing direct cash payments of $2,000 Tuesday, but with a catch to which Democrats will likely object.
The bill combines $2,000 payments with a repeal of Section 230, a provision that grants social media companies liability protections against content users post on their platforms, and the establishment of a commission to study allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
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President Trump on Tuesday ripped Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for blocking a bipartisan House-approved bill that would have provided millions of Americans with a $2,000 relief check.
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Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders said that he will filibuster a Senate override of President Donald Trump’s military bill veto unless the chamber votes on legislation providing $2,000 checks to Americans.
“McConnell and the Senate want to expedite the override vote and I understand that,” Sanders told reporters Monday evening. “But I’m not going to allow that to happen unless there is a vote, no matter how long that takes, on the $2,000 direct payment.”
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The House has voted to expand direct payments to the American people from $600 per adult and $600 per child in the year-end Covid relief legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump, to $2,000 per adult and $600 per child, a move the President supports.
Under the newly signed law, an average family of four will be receiving a $2,400 check via direct deposit from the U.S. Treasury, coming atop the $3,400 they received in the CARES Act in the spring — a combined $5,800 in 2020 alone.
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Republican Sen. Josh Hawley and Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders joined forces Thursday, introducing an amendment that would provide direct cash payments to Americans as part of any additional coronavirus relief that Congress passes.
The unlikely allies agree that Congress should not leave Washington before passing a relief package, and that any such package must include direct payments to help mitigate the economic hardship inflicted on millions of Americans due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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