[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 164 (Tuesday, September 22, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H4643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INEQUALITIES IN COVID-19 ASSISTANCE DISTRIBUTION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Quigley) for 5 minutes.
Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the inequalities
that persist in COVID-19 assistance distribution.
Back in March, House Democrats recognized the global health crisis
was causing an economic crisis. As Americans struggled, we provided
them with stimulus checks to help them make ends meet during these
uncertain times.
However, not everyone who was entitled to these checks received them.
The Senate wrongfully included a provision in the CARES Act that
prevented families with only one American citizen parent and another
who is a tax-paying immigrant with an ITIN from receiving this
financial assistance.
Let me repeat this. Citizens of the United States are being prevented
from receiving stimulus checks because of whom they love.
This blatant discrimination must be corrected. We need to help people
like Lacey, an amazing, hardworking citizen who works for the State
government and isn't able to receive a stimulus check. Lacey and her
spouse have been together for 14 years and were married in 2010. They
have raised six beautiful children, all of whom are U.S. citizens.
For the past 7 years, Lacey has worked at the Illinois Veterans Home
in Quincy, Illinois. She works long hours to make sure her veteran
residents are safe, healthy, and happy, and in March, this job made her
an essential, frontline worker.
Lacey loves her job and loves her residents like they are her own
family. Since the onset of COVID, she has continued her hard work and
dedication to her job. Lacey has picked up overtime shifts to cover for
coworkers who are sick and has worked hard to ensure the standards of
care at the facility remain high. She is a United States citizen who
works every day to care for our Nation's veterans.
Despite her service to our country and the fact that she and her
children are American citizens, her family did not receive a check, all
because her spouse is an immigrant using an ITIN and they file their
taxes jointly.
She has done everything in her power to speak out and advocate for
herself and has connected with others like her in the Facebook group
Mixed-Status Families United.
She told me: ``I am being punished for who I married. My husband and
I work and we pay our taxes. Why are we being treated like second-class
citizens?''
Her words resonate, because she is right. She is being treated like a
second-class citizen.
I ask you, during a period of unprecedented challenges, when
Americans are facing more than one crisis, when we are depending on
essential workers more than ever, is it right for our country to treat
people differently based on the immigration status of their loved ones?
As a country, I believe we can and should do better. There is no
scenario in which citizens should be denied the help they are entitled
to. Likewise, tax-paying immigrants who are paying their fair share
should not be denied assistance, left out on their own.
I am pleased that the HEROES Act, which the House passed more than
100 days ago, rectifies this issue and makes all tax-paying individuals
eligible for a check.
While I believe all taxpayers should receive a stimulus check
regardless of their citizenship status, at the very least, we need to
ensure that all U.S. citizens receive a check regardless of who their
spouses are, and underscore the necessity of including a fix that
corrects this provision retroactively and for any additional stimulus
checks provided moving forward.
We must stand with mixed-status families and continue to fight for
them and their rights. Now, more than ever, we need to provide for
people who are suffering due to this pandemic.
I urge my colleagues to join me in taking swift action to resolve
this issue.
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