Last edited Sat Jul 25, 2020, 08:10 PM - Edit history (1)
'Unemployment Benefits Set to Expire as GOP Delays Introducing Bill.' The $600 federal benefit will expire July 31 and a deal to extend it is likely weeks away. By Lisa Hagen, Reporter, July 24, 2020, at 6:05 p.m. - Excerpts, Ed.:
IN MARCH, CONGRESS halted evictions and gave unemployed Americans an extra $600 in unemployment benefits but four months later, those safety nets are expiring with no deal on another coronavirus relief package in sight.
[ READ: Unemployment Claims Rose to 1.4M Last Week ]
Now, with millions of Americans out of work and the coronavirus continuing to spread rapidly, the enhanced benefits of $600 a week will expire July 31, with many unemployed Americans receiving their last federal supplement over the weekend. While those on unemployment insurance will still be able to claim state benefits, the lapse in the additional benefit comes when the monthly unemployment rate stands at 11%, with more than 17 million people unemployed. Meanwhile, there's no clear timeline of when – or if – the full benefit will be restored by lawmakers. What's more, renters across the country are at risk of eviction with the moratorium ending Friday, July 24.
People who have missed rent payments over the past four months will be required to start paying them or risk receiving a notice to vacate from their landlord. According to a report from the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project, there are nearly 110 million renters in the U.S. and one in five could face eviction by Sept. 30. Some states and cities, however, have extended eviction moratoriums beyond July. With enhanced unemployment benefits and the eviction moratorium ending, Congress was scrambling this week to kick off negotiations on its latest coronavirus aid package, but bipartisan talks stalled as Republicans delayed the release of their bill amid sharp internal divisions.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was expected to introduce the bill by Thursday but punted until next week as Senate Republicans hammer out the final disagreements and details with the Trump administration over the weekend. Leadership also faces stiff opposition from some fiscally conservative members who are balking at the trillion-dollar price tag after Congress has already spent $3 trillion on previous coronavirus aid. "The administration has requested additional time to review the fine details, but we will be laying down the proposal early next week," McConnell said late Thursday afternoon. "We have an agreement in principle on the shape of the package." Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin laid out further details of the bill on Thursday, confirming to reporters that the legislation won't include President Donald Trump's top priority of a payroll tax holiday. The president had previously threatened to veto a bill that doesn't include it, but the tax cut faced bipartisan opposition since it wouldn't help unemployed Americans who are no longer on a company's payroll.
While there's still some uncertainty regarding the scope of the enhanced unemployment benefit, it's all but guaranteed that any federal supplement would be less than the weekly $600 under the GOP's plan...House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York are pinning the blame on Republicans for the lapse in emergency benefits, noting that Democrats passed their own $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill in late May. The House-passed bill, which has stalled in the Senate, would extend the weekly $600 until the end of January 2021. "This weekend, millions of Americans will lose their unemployment insurance, will be at risk of being evicted from their homes, and could be laid off by state and local government, and there is only one reason: Republicans have been dithering for months while America's crisis deepens," Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement on Friday. "We had expected to be working throughout this weekend to find common ground on the next COVID response package," the statement continues. "It is simply unacceptable Republicans have had this entire time to reach consensus among themselves and continue to flail."
Once the GOP releases its bill, bipartisan talks will start in earnest but a deal is likely weeks away.
https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2020-07-24/unemployment-benefits-set-to-expire-as-gop-delays-bill
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