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'My fellow American': Biden sends letter to stimulus check recipients, echoing mailer sent by Trump
Last edited Wed May 5, 2021, 09:40 AM - Edit history (1)
Reminder: just because the new guy isn't doing all the same terrible things as the previous guy, doesn't mean the new guy gets to be let off the hook for doing questionable things.
Link to tweet
USA TODAY
'My fellow American': Biden sends letter to stimulus check recipients, echoing mailer sent by Trump
Michael Collins, USA TODAY
Tue, May 4, 2021, 2:09 PM · 4 min read
WASHINGTON – Americans who got a stimulus check from the federal government during the third round of direct payments this spring can also expect a letter from President Joe Biden. ... The one-page letter, which has started arriving in the mailboxes of recipients, was mailed by the Internal Revenue Service but written on White House stationery and includes Biden’s signature at the bottom. It is similar to a letter that Donald Trump sent out last year, prompting accusations that he was politicizing the IRS.
{snip}
The IRS said in a statement that the letter is required under the American Rescue Plan, but later issued an updated statement that deleted that sentence. The agency said the original statement contained “a technical error.” The law directs the Treasury Department to notify those who are eligible for a stimulus check but doesn't explicitly state who should send that notice.
A government watchdog group that slammed Trump for sending out his letter following the first round of stimulus payments said Biden’s letter also was a bad idea.
"While what we see here from President Biden is not as bad as what we saw from President Trump – namely insisting the checks feature his signature, potentially delaying them at the worst possible time – that doesn't make it good,” said Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. ... Trump started “a troubling trend of using taxpayer resources to send self-serving letters to the public,” Libowitz said. ... “Biden would be smart to put this practice out to pasture along with a lot of the behavior from his predecessor,” he said.
{snip}
'My fellow American': Biden sends letter to stimulus check recipients, echoing mailer sent by Trump
Michael Collins, USA TODAY
Tue, May 4, 2021, 2:09 PM · 4 min read
WASHINGTON – Americans who got a stimulus check from the federal government during the third round of direct payments this spring can also expect a letter from President Joe Biden. ... The one-page letter, which has started arriving in the mailboxes of recipients, was mailed by the Internal Revenue Service but written on White House stationery and includes Biden’s signature at the bottom. It is similar to a letter that Donald Trump sent out last year, prompting accusations that he was politicizing the IRS.
{snip}
The IRS said in a statement that the letter is required under the American Rescue Plan, but later issued an updated statement that deleted that sentence. The agency said the original statement contained “a technical error.” The law directs the Treasury Department to notify those who are eligible for a stimulus check but doesn't explicitly state who should send that notice.
A government watchdog group that slammed Trump for sending out his letter following the first round of stimulus payments said Biden’s letter also was a bad idea.
"While what we see here from President Biden is not as bad as what we saw from President Trump – namely insisting the checks feature his signature, potentially delaying them at the worst possible time – that doesn't make it good,” said Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. ... Trump started “a troubling trend of using taxpayer resources to send self-serving letters to the public,” Libowitz said. ... “Biden would be smart to put this practice out to pasture along with a lot of the behavior from his predecessor,” he said.
{snip}
17 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
I got mine, too. It's the first correspondence I have ever gotten from a politician discussing them sending me money instead of the other way around.
