Pa. can't afford extra unemployment payment pushed by Trump, governor says [View all]

[modrepub]

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania does not have the money to provide $100 a week as President Donald Trump pushes states to help pay for a new round of federal unemployment assistance, Gov. Tom Wolf told the state’s members of Congress.

In a Thursday letter, Wolf, a Democrat, urged Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation anew to extend the $600 per-week federal benefit, which ended last month, and warned them that Trump’s plan is a “convoluted and short-lived proposal that will delay payments to unemployed Pennsylvanians and create unnecessary and costly administrative burdens” for states.

States are in the midst of deciding whether to sign onto Trump's plan, a new $400 a week payment that requires a state to commit to providing $100, or simply accept $300 in extra weekly federal unemployment assistance.

Wolf's administration has said a new program must be created from scratch, separate from Pennsylvania's existing unemployment benefits programs, because Trump's executive order is written under disaster relief and emergency assistance law.


Link: https://www.pennlive.com/nation-world/2020/08/pa-cant-afford-extra-unemployment-payment-pushed-by-trump-governor-says.html