Stimulus Checks Will Have an Unusual Name on Them

A president's name, for the first time ever
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 15, 2020 6:21 AM CDT
Stimulus Checks Are Getting Trump's Name on Them
In this March 27, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump signs the coronavirus stimulus relief package, at the White House in Washington, as from left, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., House Minority Kevin McCarthy of Calif., and Vice President Mike...   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

If you're among the Americans checking their mailboxes for a stimulus check, the Washington Post reports that yours will be coming to you a little differently than any other IRS disbursement in history: It will bear the words "President Donald J. Trump" on the left-hand side of the check. The Post calls it an "unprecedented decision"—no president has ever had his name appear on an IRS disbursement—and one that could possibly delay the arrival of said checks. IRS officials note that computer code for printing the checks now needs to be changed and tested by IT employees working remotely, which could slightly hold things up.

"Any last-minute request like this will create a downstream snarl that will result in a delay," says Chad Hooper, national president of the IRS' Professional Managers Association. Not so, according to the Treasury Department. "Economic Impact Payment checks are scheduled to go out on time and exactly as planned—there is absolutely no delay whatsoever," a department spokeswoman notes. Still, Hooper says that the Trump name addition is an "abuse of government resources." "Anything that takes our focus from getting those checks out the door and hampers the equitable, fair administration of the tax code is not something we can support," he notes. (More economic stimulus package stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X