Economy

Deceased likely to receive stimulus checks again under Biden $1.9T plan

Published

3 years ago

February 7, 2021

Deceased individuals are likely to receive coronavirus relief funding again under President Biden’s new plan despite a relatively possible easy fix, says a government waste expert.

If Congress passes Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, the same mistakes that led to nearly $1.4 billion being sent to deceased Americans last year will happen again, says president of Citizens Against Government Waste Tom Schatz.

Schatz told Just the News there is a simple fix. `

“[T]he problem that caused the money to go to these people last time has not been fixed, and it’s a relatively simple fix,” Schatz said. “The Social Security Administration has what’s called the master death file. It is not shared with the Internal Revenue Service, it is shared with other agencies, but not the one where you would really want it to be shared, which is the IRS.”

Schatz said there must be legislation to change this oversight.

“And there has been legislation to change that,” Schatz said. “Because apparently it requires a law for one agency to share information with another. And if they don’t fix that, which I do not see in this 1,000-plus page bill, they are going to once again send checks out to dead people.”

Biden and Democrats are pushing this legislation through and hundreds of millions of dollars may end up in the wrong accounts — at a time when many Americans could use that money for struggling businesses.

“So if somebody paid taxes two years ago, or last year, and has now passed away, that check is going to show up,” he said. “And of course, there’s fraud related to that as well, people keeping the names of their deceased relatives or parents or siblings and just collecting checks, and they would qualify too, unfortunately.”

According to Schatz, unless something is changed in the legislation, this money will be lost to waste and fraud — but is this really a shock for a government run program?

You can follow Ben Wilson on Twitter @BenDavisWilson

Economy

Massachusetts Democrat Mayor wants to end ‘right-to-shelter’ law amidst migrant crisis

Published

2 weeks ago

September 12, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

More Democrat leaders from non-border states are wising up to the immigration crisis our nation faces. Woburn mayor Scott Galvin, of the progressive state of Massachusetts, is hoping that lawmakers will overturn a 40-year-old law because the reality of being “bleeding heart liberals” is resulting in the demise of his town.

The 40-year-old “right-to-shelter” law has got to go, says mayor Galvin, because of the immense strain the thousands of migrant families are putting on the area’s residents. By Friday, there were about 150 families living in the city’s hotels, an “unsustainable” arrangement for his 40,000 constituents.

Galvin told the New York Times the right-to-shelter law, which only exists in Massachusetts, was “passed at a different time, and was not meant to cover what we’re seeing now.”

National Review reports:

Under the 1983 right-to-shelter law, Massachusetts officials are legally required to offer housing to any homeless families seeking shelter in the state. The law now covers a rising influx of migrant families, although individuals are not covered under its provisions.

“We’re going above and beyond, while some communities around us are not being impacted, and we don’t have endless capacity in our schools,” said Galvin. “The benefits that are bestowed on migrants make the state a very attractive destination, and without some changes, this challenge is not going to abate.”

Massachusetts Democrat Governor Maura Healey already declared a state of emergency on August 8th, requesting help from the federal government. On August 31, Healey activated up to 250 Massachusetts National Guard members to assist the more than 6,000 migrant families already in the state’s shelter system.

Approximately 6,300 families are living in emergency shelters and hotels across the state, up roughly 50 percent from the year prior. The cost for such accommodations for all the migrants is approximately $45 million per month, National Review reports.