Published: 06-23-08
Nearly 7 of ten who have not filed for checks are senior citizens
WASHINGTON DC –Congressman Kevin Brady (R –Texas) is alarmed by new data that shows 414482 Texans won’t be receiving an Economic Stimulus Check in the mail at a time when prices at the pump are at an all-time high. “This is devastating news” said Brady “especially when you realize that 68 of those missing out are our seniors who are the most in need of this financial boost.”
The most recent figures provided to Congress show 281640 senior citizens are among the Texans who have yet to file a 2007 tax return which is a requirement to get their $300 stimulus check (or $600 for married couples). Brady is very concerned that seniors who normally don’t meet the minimum income requirement to file a tax return are being left out in the cold because they don’t have the right information on the process.
Since a tax return is necessary to receive the stimulus check regardless of whether any taxes are owed Brady is taking the necessary forms to area senior centers ahead of a new Internal Revenue Service initiative to mail out letters that explain the process to more than five million American retirees. So far 76.5 million rebate checks totaling $64 billion have been issued. An additional 124 million checks are in the process of being mailed out.
Brady received a briefing on the distribution of the Economic Stimulus checks during a hearing of the Ways and Means Committee. He is concerned that “high fuel prices are wiping out much of the impact of the stimulus checks which was debatable anyway.”
“By failing to act to produce more American-made energy and allowing our dependence on foreign oil to grow dangerously high Congress is neutralizing the impact of the checks on our economy.”
