Katie Morris is a single mom. She says during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, her hours were cut back at work. But Morris says the first stimulus payment helped keep her family afloat.
“It caught me up on some bills and got my feet back underneath me,” Morris said.
While she’s once again working normal hours, she says a second stimulus would help with her higher summer costs and create a buffer if her hours are cut again.
The Democrats and Republicans agree that a second stimulus payment should go out, but how much and who it should go to is still being debated. The Democrat proposal is the HEROES Act, and the GOP says it’s close to announcing its own proposal.
Some haven’t received the first stimulus
While some of us are anxious for a second stimulus payment, some of our neighbors like Heather Arnold are still waiting on the first one. Arnold says she’s spent hours trying to remedy the issue and could use the money for her daughter’s college tuition.
“I pay her tuition from my 401(k), and the 401(k) took a huge hit,” Arnold said.
But the road to getting the $2,400 payment has been a winding one, with no end in sight.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so frustrated in all of my life,” Arnold said.
First, she started with the IRS.
“I asked, ‘What address do you have for me?’” Arnold said. “And he announced my new address, so I thought we’re good.”
But, after no payment surfaced, Arnold called again, and a different representative told her that the debit card went to an old address listed on her 2018 return.
Next, she called the phone number on the debit card site. It’s a number Arnold doesn’t have because she never got a card.
She also says she sent letters to Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Rick Scott and Congressman Verb Buchanan.
“They literally sent me back a form letter that’s a homepage of the IRS,” Arnold said. “If you can’t do this, do this. If you didn’t, do this, do this. I’m thinking, ‘You didn’t even read what I wrote.’”
Sen. Scott’s office told WINK they’d reach out to Arnold and Congressman Buchanan’s office said they’re already in touch with the IRS.
The IRS says if you don’t receive the full amount you’re entitled to, you’ll be able to claim it when you file your 2020 tax return.