The government’s inefficient delivery means relief will come too late for many Americans

New Practice Lab research was cited in a Washington Post editorial about delivery problems in the CARES Act COVID-19 stimulus bill.

LAST WEEK, tens of millions of Americans received their $1,200 stimulus checks. With 22 million newly unemployed, food banks overwhelmed and renters at risk of eviction, for many, these funds arrived not a moment too soon. Unfortunately, stimulus checks will arrive unevenly over the coming months. The money might arrive too late for some of the most vulnerable Americans, underscoring a lesson we can’t afford to keep learning throughout this crisis: If we don’t pay closer attention to benefit delivery, for too many Americans, emergency relief will be relief in name only.

While tens of millions of taxpayers have received their awards via direct deposit, millions more won’t receive them for months, if they receive them at all. Originally, researchers at the New America think tank estimated that only half of eligible families would receive funds this month. Fortunately, the Internal Revenue Service recently clarified a payment process for the nearly 10 million Americans who earn below the federal filing minimum and others for whom the government did not have bank information on file. Though a welcome development, this effort should have been a priority from the start. The weeks it took to clarify the steps the lowest-income Americans need to follow to get emergency relief is precious time gone.