Carol Gundlach
Alabama and the nation are facing an economic crisis unlike anything most of us have seen in our lifetimes. As unemployment remains persistently high, the scope of suffering in our state is wide. More than 13% of Alabama families don’t have enough money to buy food, the Census Bureau reports. And one in three Alabamians are struggling to pay their rent or mortgage.
By failing to boost housing assistance and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits or to extend the weekly $600 federal increase to unemployment insurance benefits, Congress has neglected its duty to help families make ends meet during the COVID-19 pandemic. But state officials can help hundreds of thousands of Alabamians in the next few weeks by ensuring they don’t miss the opportunity to claim federal assistance that is available to them right now.
An estimated 267,000 eligible Alabamians have not received their federal stimulus payments of $1,200 per eligible adult and $500 per eligible child. Altogether, the IRS still owes Alabama families more than $260 million in stimulus money. The deadline to claim the payments is Oct. 15, so immediate outreach efforts are crucial to ensure Alabamians don’t miss out.
Congress created the payments, called Economic Impact Payments, in March as part of the CARES Act, a COVID-19 relief package. Eligible people who filed income taxes for 2018 or who receive Social Security, SSI, veterans’ benefits or other direct federal benefits automatically received payments.
But about 12 million other eligible Americans must apply to the IRS to receive payments. They include many people who face long-term unemployment or didn’t earn enough to have to file income taxes. They also include people who have chronic health problems but don’t draw disability benefits, as well as many young people who have aged out of foster care or who lack family financial support.
A disproportionate share of undelivered stimulus payments belong to people of color, due to systemic barriers to opportunity. Eligible Americans who have not claimed payments are more likely to struggle with homelessness or housing insecurity. And they’re more likely to have experienced financial pain during the COVID-19 recession.
Stimulus payments help Alabama families get caught up on rent, utilities and grocery bills. They’re also an important economic boost for the state. Every $1 in stimulus payments to struggling households yields $1.50 in economic activity and has a huge stimulus effect because the money gets spent almost immediately. Drawing down the missing $260 million would ease suffering and help Alabama’s economy endure the recession.
Eligible people who didn’t receive an automatic payment can apply directly to the IRS using the “Non-Filer” tool found at irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here. Only U.S. citizens and authorized permanent residents are eligible for payments, and every person in the household must have a Social Security number.
State agencies have an important role to play in outreach to people who have not yet claimed their stimulus payment. Of the 12 million Americans who didn’t automatically qualify, three-fourths participate in Medicaid or SNAP.
If our state’s numbers follow that national trend, that would mean about 200,000 Alabamians who participate in Medicaid or SNAP are eligible for stimulus payments but haven’t received them yet. More than a third are children, and therefore probably receiving Medicaid coverage.
We must ensure our friends and neighbors don’t miss out on the vital assistance available to them. Alabama’s Medicaid and SNAP officials have stepped up by placing notices on their websites and by sending texts and emails encouraging participants to apply for stimulus payments. Nonprofit agencies, especially those offering assistance with housing as utilities, can help their clients apply for payments as well. And elected officials should use traditional and social media to encourage Alabamians to apply for CARES Act payments by Oct. 15.
These are challenging times. But if we all pull together and take care of each other, we can make it through together. One important step is to ensure all eligible Alabamians get the federal help set aside to help them make ends meet.
Carol Gundlach is a policy analyst for Alabama Arise, a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of congregations, organizations and individuals promoting public policies to improve the lives of Alabamians with low incomes. Email: carol@alarise.org.
