September 26, 2020
Dear Friends,
This week we lost an incredible champion and relentless trailblazer who dedicated her life to advancing justice and equality for all: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Justice Ginsburg’s passing was a profound loss for our nation, our courts and the cause of justice. Over these past few days, we have seen an outpouring of love, gratitude and compassion from people across our nation and the world. Many have journeyed to Washington to pay their respects, leaving flowers, personal notes and other mementos on the steps of the Supreme Court.
She was a woman of singular brilliance and character, a giant of the Court whose fierce, humble voice has shaped our laws, and the rule of law itself, for the better. As we grieve Justice Ginsburg’s passing, let us take some solace in knowing her work and legacy are timeless, and her many achievements will live on among the greatest lights of American history.
Her life was historic. So it is fitting that she has continued to break barriers after her passing, becoming the first woman and first Jewish American to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol.
While her tireless fight for gender equality was deeply personal, Justice Ginsburg understood that discrimination on the basis of sex, gender, race, background or any other part of our identities hurts all of us. In fact, some of her key legal cases against discrimination were fought on behalf of male plaintiffs. Time and again she showed us that the law can be a force for justice that can help us realize America’s founding premise that all people are created equal.
Through her words and actions, she epitomized her famous statement, “Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
Despite their starkly differing opinions on the Supreme Court, late Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Ginsburg maintained an unbreakable friendship. He said of her, “she has done more to shape the law in this field than any other justice on this court."
When the 2013 Supreme Court ruling struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder, Justice Ginsburg gave a scathing dissent writing, "throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet."
She shared her final guidance with us through her granddaughter, that her “most fervent wish” was that she “not be replaced until a new president is installed.” She understood to her last breath that our politics must never overtake our duty to country, to our democratic institutions, to our people and to rule of law.
Let us turn our grief into resolve. Her fight for justice and equality was never hers alone, but all of ours. And all of ours it remains. Now more than ever, we must fight for American values and principles; for health care for all, for reproductive rights, for workers’ rights, voting rights, civil rights and human rights.
Justice Ginsburg’s contributions in life will echo through our laws and our system of justice for generations. We honor her legacy by continuing her fight for justice for all.
My heartfelt condolences to Justice Ginsburg’s family, her many friends, colleagues and staff, and all who share in mourning her passing. May she rest forever in peace and in justice.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
Throughout this pandemic, my office and I have worked to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations on any and all COVID-19 related topics. With that in mind here is some information that may be of interest to you:
- The IRS will expand Identity Protection Pin eligibility to all taxpayers next year.
- Starting January 2021, all taxpayers will be eligible for an IP PIN by using the online Get an IP PIN tool.
- Not all taxpayers will be able to authenticate their identities through our Secure Access authentication process by having credit cards or loan accounts, which are part of the validation process.
- To help underserved communities, the IRS is creating Form 15227, Application for an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN). Taxpayers are eligible to file a Form 15227 if they have a valid Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, an adjusted gross income of equal to or less than $72,000 on their last filed tax return and access to a telephone.
- The IRS also is creating an in-person authentication process for taxpayers who cannot authenticate their identities online with the Get an IP PIN tool and are not eligible to file a Form 15227.
- Visit IRS.gov for questions about PIN eligibility and more.
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