Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Talks Individual Stimulus Payments & Contact Tracing and Testing During Tele-Town Hall

Press Release

Today, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) hosted her weekly tele-town hall meeting to update Hawai"i residents about COVID-19. Shawna Lamothe from the IRS and Gayvial James from the IRS Local Taxpayer Advocate office responded to some of the most common questions the Congresswoman and her staff have received over the past few weeks. Dr. Scott Miscovich, who has been leading COVID-19 testing efforts and working closely as a senior advisor to Lt. Gov. Josh Green, updated everyone about the importance of continuing to expand testing efforts so that the state can open safely and quickly identify and react to any new outbreak.

This was the tenth of a weekly coronavirus-related live telephone town hall series Rep. Gabbard has hosted since the pandemic began to impact Hawai'i.

"This massive public health crisis and economic fallout have hit people hard and relief efforts at the federal, state, and local levels are continuing to try to adapt in order to get aid into the hands of those who need it most. The fast-moving pace of developments has left many people confused and in search of assistance and answers," said Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. "With experts from the IRS as well as Dr. Scott Miscovich who is leading testing efforts in our state, these telephone town halls have been crucial to keeping Hawai"i residents informed and getting their questions answered."

Rep. Gabbard began the call with an update from Washington, D.C., where she recently returned after voting on H.R.6800, the HEROES Act, a large emergency funding bill focused on providing resources to state and local governments, including Hawai"i, Maui, and Kaua"i counties. It also included funding for contact tracing and testing, and an additional direct payment for individuals. She also voted on legislation allowing an option for proxy voting solely during this crisis, to ensure that every American continues to be represented in Congress.

Gayvial Jones, who joined the call from the IRS Local Taxpayer Advocate office, reminded callers that the Taxpayer Advocate Service is there to be the voice of taxpayers with the IRS and are available to assist those having difficulty with an IRS issue. The phone number for the Taxpayer Advocate office in Honolulu is 808-566-2950, and the fax line is 855-819-5024.

Shawna Lamothe, Hawai"i's IRS Congressional Liaison, reminded everyone that they have until July 15 to file their taxes. She also noted that the IRS has so far delivered over 140 million Economic Relief payments, direct payments to taxpayers authorized by Congress in the CARES Act, and more are on the way. Payments can be tracked online through the "Get My Payment" tool on the IRS website. The IRS strongly encourages those who need assistance to visit IRS.gov, where many frequently asked questions are answered. The IRS has a dedicated phone line for common questions about the Economic Impact Payments, which can be reached at 1-800-919-9835.

Rep. Gabbard asked the IRS representatives a number of the most frequently asked questions, including the possible reasons for a delay in receipt of a stimulus payment, the IRS's plan to process paper tax returns, and the tools available on the IRS website.

Dr. Scott Miscovich gave an update on the current state of testing throughout Hawai"i, emphasizing that the job is not done. He noted the central importance of testing as the state moves forward toward reopening. Rep. Gabbard and Dr. Scott Miscovich took questions live on the call, and answered questions from constituents about the antibody testing now being carried out, the contact tracing plan that is still being formed for Hawai"i, and the plans to ensure visitors to the state are tested as reopening moves forward. Both emphasized the importance of testing in building a data-driven picture as the state moves forward toward reopening.

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