Letter to the Hon. Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the Dept. of the Treasury, and the Hon. Charles Rettig, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service - Congressmen Panetta Urges Administration to Provide COVID-19 Response Direct Payments to Families with Newborns

Letter

Dear Secretary Mnuchin and Commissioner Rettig:

We write today urging you to ensure that families who have welcomed children into the world at this difficult time can receive expedited direct payments created by recent legislation, regardless of their family size prior to this year.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides direct payments of $500, subject to the income limitations, per qualifying dependent. While the total amount of payments in the legislation is based on a family's eligibility in 2020, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) has been instructed to use 2019 tax return information (or 2018 tax information if no 2019 information is available), in order to transmit advance payments out as soon as possible.

The legislation provides that, if their family grows in 2020, recipients may receive the difference when they file their 2020 tax returns. However, those returns will not be filed until 2021, and will not benefit affected families at their moment of greatest need.

Families who are having children this year are facing not only increased expenses to care for their newborns, but also added personal and economic stress as they navigate new health risks and potential losses of income. Some of these parents are taking unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), and others may be experiencing furloughs or loss of employment that further strain their finances.

These parents are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 outbreak but will receive less than they are entitled to in their time of greatest need.

To help these families at such a critical time in their children's lives, we ask that Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) create a process for new parents to inform the IRS of children born in 2020 and ensure that they receive any additional direct payments for which they are eligible as soon as possible.

The birth of a child should be a time of joy for families. We should do everything we can to ensure they are treated fairly and can access these payments as they face increasing health and economic challenges.