Department of Treasury Authority To Issue Checks for Special $50 Payments

GAO was asked for a decision concerning the Department of the Treasury's authority to issue checks for special $50 payments under the Tax Reduction Act of 1975, in view of a prohibition in the Tax Reduction and Simplification Act of 1977 against making payments after May 23, 1977. In this case, a social security beneficiary made a claim in November 1975, asserting that her minor dependents had not received their special $50 payments. The Treasury was notified by the Social Security Administration that the dependents were not entitled to the payments, and the claim was denied. The claimant continued to file claims for the payments, and in late 1979 the Social Security Administration found that its previous decision had been erroneous, and that the dependents were entitled to the payments when the claim was first made. The claimant did everything possible to receive timely payment, but was not paid entirely through a failure in the Government's system for making payment. Therefore, GAO did not object to payments.