Congressman Serrano Leads Democratic Members to Demand Spanish and Multi-Language Access to IRS Payment Portal

Statement

Representative José E. Serrano (NY-15), along with Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Adriano Espaillat is leading nearly 40 of his colleagues calling on Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles P. Rettig to ensure access to vital information and forms through the Economic Impact Payments (EIP) web portal for millions of non-English speakers.

"In this critical moment, everyone should be able to access and understand the information available on federal relief efforts in response to COVID-19. Millions who have limited English proficiency, including many of my constituents, are eligible to receive a direct payment from the IRS. Yet, the Economic Impact Payments (EIP) web portal is only available in English. I urge the Administration to make the website and the forms in it widely available to millions that don't speak English fluently by translating and making them available in Spanish and the 18 other most commonly spoken languages in the U.S. We need to ensure these resources are distributed fairly and that all communities can access the help they desperately need," said Rep. José E. Serrano (D-NY).

"We have heard concerns from our constituents regarding the portal's inaccessibility to non-English speakers and urge the IRS to ensure all Americans have access to this vital assistance by making all pertinent information and application forms related to the economic stimulus and recovery payments available in Spanish as well as the 18 most commonly used languages in America. Guaranteeing universal access to and understanding of EIPs is important to ensuring fair and equitable distribution of resources set aside to help Americans weather and eventually recover in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY).

"This pandemic is disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities like low-income families, people of color, immigrants and others. We need federal relief resources to reach as many people as possible. Making Economic Impact Payment information available to non-English speakers will help ensure a fairer and more just distribution of these funds. We cannot afford to leave behind any of our neighbors who are struggling through these twin public health and economic crises," said Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY).

"In the best of times Latinos remain one of the most vulnerable populations in America due in part, to language barriers for significant portions of our community. Throwing a pandemic and economic recession into the mix only exacerbates these systemic issues" said Arturo Vargas, Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund. "While millions of Latinos are eligible for desperately needed economic relief payments, many of them will be unable to access the Economic Impact Payments (EIP) portal, as it is inaccessible for anyone who does not speak English. NALEO Educational Fund stands with Members of Congress led by Rep. Espaillat and Rep. Serrano in calling on Vice President Pence, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, and IRS Commissioner Rettig to allow fair and equitable access to the EIP portal for all non-English speakers."

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