Proud Again for Senator Elizabeth Warren!

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is working with others to raise questions about the U.S. Treasury Program that penalizes the poor, sdeniors and veterans.

We should be proud, once again that we elected Senator Warren to work for the best interests of ALL Americans!

Senators grill Treasury official about debit card program

Payments increased for contractor, poor hit with fees

http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/06/20/12876/senators-grill-treasury-official-about-debit-card-program

Benefit payment change hurts poor

Fees mount under debit card system

By Daniel Wagneremail

6:00 am, June 19, 2013 Updated: 3:01 pm, June 20, 2013

A government initiative aimed at saving money by eliminating paper checks is hurting some recipients of federal benefits while earning the bank that operates the program millions in fees charged to consumers.

The U.S. Treasury Department has been urging people who collect Social Security and other benefits to switch to direct deposit rather than rely on mailed checks, to save millions of dollars a year in administrative costs.

But beneficiaries without bank accounts — and even some who do have accounts — are being pressured into using prepaid debit cards offered by Comerica Bank, an effort that is shifting costs to elderly people, veterans and other vulnerable consumers.

The Treasury Department launched the program in 2008, teaming up with the Dallas-based bank to issue the “Direct Express” debit cards in a deal that lacked the open competition or transparency of most federal contracts.

Key findings

• The government has been aggressively pushing seniors, veterans and others who collect federal benefits to sign up for Direct Express, a payment card subsidized by taxpayers and issued by Comerica bank.

 

• Comerica received $22 million in taxpayer money for offering the cards as of August 2012. It also collects millions in fees that are deducted directly from people’s benefits.

• The contracting process lacked transparency, critics say. Comerica initially offered to provide the service at no cost to the government, then reversed course, saying it couldn't make a profit. The government agreed to give the bank millions of dollars without reopening bidding.

• Call center workers were trained to get people to enroll in Direct Express, even if direct deposit was an option. More than a quarter of the people enrolled already have bank accounts and are probably paying more in fees than if they used the direct deposit option.

http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/06/19/12857/benefit-payment-change-hurts-poor?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=watchdog&utm_medium=publici-email



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