In a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Senator Murray pushed to ensure those without a permanent address in Washington state, across the country get help during pandemic
Senator Murray: “[P]eople experiencing homelessness face unique barriers to receiving the payments they are entitled to under the law”
(Washington, D.C.) – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), joined 27 of her Senate colleagues to push the Trump Administration to make certain that people experiencing homelessness in Washington state and across the country receive the coronavirus relief payments they are entitled to.
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Senator Murray and her colleagues urged him to consider the steep barriers people experiencing homelessness will confront when trying to access the direct stimulus payments provided in the recent bipartisan coronavirus relief package. Senator Murray also pressed Sec. Mnuchin to launch a public awareness campaign to make sure that people experiencing homelessness are aware of their eligibility for these payments.
“[P]eople experiencing homelessness face unique barriers to receiving the payments they are entitled to under the law. 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,” Sen. Murray and her colleagues wrote to Secretary Mnuchin. “[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.”
In the letter, Senator Murray asked Secretary Mnuchin to publish guidance stating that Americans without a permanent address or bank account are not precluded from relief payments. Senator Murray also asked the Department to publish specific procedures to help those without a bank account, government-issued identification, or a permanent address get access to their payments, and pushed Secretary Mnuchin to conduct a public awareness campaign aimed at identifying Americans experiencing homelessness and helping them get their payments.
From the start of the coronavirus crisis, Senator Murray has fought for resources and aid for Washingtonians and people across the country experiencing homelessness. Most recently, Senator Murray successfully included and increased housing assistance funding in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, including nearly $40 million in Emergency Solutions Grants, an estimated $35.5 million in Community Development Block Grants, and approximately $11.1 million in additional funds for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program for Washington state.
You can read the letter here.
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