While millions of Americans wait for the first of a new series of monthly stimulus payments to arrive next month - and to see whether the federal government ever agrees to a fourth stimulus check - there are other ways to get money from the government right now.
The average claim paid in 2019 was $1,780 and unclaimed property programs returned more than $3 billion in total that year, as per the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. In addition, it isn't always money that the states are holding to, either:
How to check unclaimed properties, including stimulus payment?
According to the same report, the Tennessee State Treasurer's Office restored a Purple Heart to a soldier's family after it was awarded more than 70 years ago, while Arkansas State Auditor Andrea Lea looked for the rightful owner of love letters written home during WWII. Unclaimed property is due to around one out of every ten Americans, BGR reported.
In other cases, New York State claims to be holding $16.5 billion in lost and unclaimed property, and that as of this writing, the state had already restored more than $191.5 million to owners in 2021. It is free to search for and reclaim your property in most US states. You may start your search with your state treasurer's office.
The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators' page will also lead you to a map of the United States, where you can find the database you need to search for the state that applies to you. Some websites, such as the Missing Money website, has been certified by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators and allows users to search 39 states and lets allow you do searches across numerous states. Similarly, FindMyFunds allows you to search for unclaimed funds in 25 states and the District of Columbia, and also gives connections to official unclaimed property websites for states that aren't included in its findings.
These states will distribute $1,000 stimulus checks
Per National Interest, the state-level direct payments come as several Democratic members of Congress have pressed President Joe Biden to pass recurrent stimulus checks until the pandemic is over. After Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) approved the budget last week, first responders and teachers in Florida will get $1,000 one-time stimulus payments during the summer.
More than $400 million has been set aside in the state budget for direct payments, with almost 174,000 first responders and 180,000 educators projected to benefit. The stimulus payments are expected to be given out during the summer, although the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has already started issuing money to first responders since the initiative was first announced, said DeSantis.
The state's first responders, which include law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical professionals, are likely to get an extra stimulus payment, according to the governor. There are 49,405 police enforcement officers, 40,732 Emergency responders, 35,811 firefighters, and 33,185 paramedics on the list.
Teachers will also receive state-level stimulus payments from the third phase of President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. The state will spend $215 million to provide direct payments to 175,000 full-time classroom teachers and nearly 3,000 principals. Both California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) have given extra one-time payments to selected people, similar to DeSantis' stimulus idea.
Because of the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Democratic supporters argue that millions of Americans are still struggling to put food on the table and pay for necessities. The White House, on the other hand, has shifted its attention to achieving a bipartisan infrastructure package that would, among other things, restore conventional infrastructure in the US and enhance broadband internet.
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