Incarcerated People Will Get Relief Checks
The Claim
People incarcerated in the U.S. will receive COVID relief checks.
Emerging story
On March 6, 2021, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton began a social media campaign informing Americans that prisoners will also be eligible to get the upcoming $1400 stimulus checks as part of the COVID-19 relief bill. His posts were liked or shared more than 10K times, including by other lawmakers. He also made headlines as a result of television interviews on the topic.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar has discovered that inmates will be included among those who will receive stimulus checks in the new COVID-19 relief bill approved by the senate last week. They also were eligible for the two previous COVID relief bills that offered $1,200 and $600 according to Foxnews.com. Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Cotton and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, offered an amendment on the floor Saturday to block checks from prisoners. It failed on a party-line vote, 49-50.
According to wkyc.com, there are currently more than 2 million people in jails and prisons across the United States. And while legally prisoners are eligible to receive the stimulus money, it can often be difficult for them to fill out the paperwork or sometimes the money is blocked or reduced by certain prisons according to the Marshall Project. According to the PrisonPolicy.org, the money that prisoners do receive can help pay for some day to day services in prison such as commissary charges, hygiene supplies, and phone services which are more expensive now due to COVID-limited visitations. This also means that families of prisoners may also benefit from the stimulus checks, especially if a married couple filed jointly for taxes.
President Biden is expected to sign the stimulus bill this week according to CNBC.com.
