Within the CARES Act that Congress passed to provide relief to Americans affected by COVID-19 was a provision that authorized the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to send direct payments to individuals who may be financially strained by the current state of the economy, called Economic Impact Payments (EIP). For further information and to see if you qualify, you can visit the Economic Impact Payment Information Center on the IRS website.

Earlier this month, the IRS began distributing these payments through direct deposit for those whose banking information they had on file. For those requiring a paper check to be mailed, payments started this week. If you have not received your check, you can visit the IRS website to review its status. If you input your information and receive the message, “Payment Status Not Available”, this does not mean you are ineligible or will go unnoticed. It may indicate that the IRS hasn’t finished processing your 2019 tax return or is working to upload your data. It may also imply you are not required to file taxes and the IRS has not processed your non-filer entry.

If you receive Railroad Retirement, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Social Security, veterans' benefits or survivor benefits and do not typically file a tax return, your EIP will be automatically deposited into the bank account the IRS has on file for you. If you receive Social Security via physical mail, your EIP will be directed to your most up-to-date mailing address.

For additional information regarding EIPs, please click here.

As you may have seen, this week, Congress passed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. This bill will replenish the Paycheck Protection Program, which will allow businesses to continue paying employees by offering financial assistance intended to be used for expenses like payroll, as well as provide additional resources to hospitals and health care workers on the front lines of fighting the COVID-19 outbreak. The day after the bill passed the House, President Trump signed it into law.

Like all bills, the success of this relief package will depend on how it is implemented. We in Congress have given an outline to federal agencies on how to help Americans struggling with this crisis. It is up to them to correctly administer our work. 

With that in mind, I am thankful to be a member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which has the power to oversee the implementation of this bill and make sure that funds are properly utilized. In the previous COVID-19 relief package, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was formed and businesses, and in turn employees, began to receive financial relief. Some of the funds, however, were given to businesses that either didn't need them or should not have qualified. Some of these businesses have returned the money and the Oversight and Reform Committee is looking similar cases to ensure relief is reaching its intended recipients.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee recently held a conference call with Matthew Albence, Acting Director of U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Mark Morgan, Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Acting Director Albence and Acting Commissioner Morgan have done an outstanding job over the past year, decreasing apprehensions at the Southern border by over 75% since May 2019. Sadly, their great successes are being threatened by immigration policies that would open our borders while our country is quarantining and social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak.

My Democratic colleagues on the call used their time to discuss a halt in deportations, which would further crowd detention facilities, and criticize policies that would direct those seeking to cross the border illegally toward legal ports of entry. I do not think these ideas would be helpful to our country, especially given the current crisis.

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues, it is essential that we implement immigration policies that ultimately aim to do what is best for our country. This is not the time for partisanship and hidden agendas to be carried out, but for unity and compromises that help the American people. As a member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, I will continue to diligently watch for abuses of power and ensure our government officials are held accountable for any immigration policies they wish to enforce.