Hi All,

I recently received an email from Oregon senator Ron Wyden.  The email was relatively long and covered numerous aspects of the government's response to COVID-19, but one paragraph specifically addressed the concern of this petition.  It reads:

"...I have introduced important legislation that would allow Americans with an Individual Tax Identification Number, instead of a Social Security Number, to claim stimulus checks, as well as allow for an additional credit to families with dependents 17 and older - which would include college students and children or parents with disabilities. I am also pushing my colleagues to pass my bipartisan bill that would prevent banks from garnishing the checks for private debts."

There are senators from other states who have also noticed this issue with the CARES Act.  Because of this, I am hopeful that the stimulus bill that was introduced in late July - the HEALS Act - will include financial relief for dependents who are older than 16-years-old.

This oversight in the CARES Act has received an increasing amount of attention since this petition began over five months ago.  Thank you for all your hard work, and I'll be sure to post another update if I hear any important news on this matter.

Regards,

Austin Goergen