Unemployment Benefits: Senate Democrats want a weekly boost, but add a month’s payments to the stimulus bill

Unemployment Benefits: Senate Democrats want a weekly boost, but add a month’s payments to the stimulus bill

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The new arrangement would also make the first benefits of $ 10,200 tax-free.

This is a significant change to the Home Account, which will provide an additional $ 400 per week through August 29 and will continue the two pandemic programs for the same period. The House Bill does not contain the tax provision.

But West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin – the important 50th vote of the Democrats – does not yet support the plan, but supports the Republican proposal to extend federal benefits from $ 300 a week until July.

Progress on the overall bill was halted Friday afternoon when senators negotiated the issue.

The Senate on Friday voted on a series of amendments in a process known as ‘vote-a-rama’ before moving on to a final vote on the entire aid package.

Expansion of special pandemic programs

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program provides benefits to freelancers, gig workers, independent contractors and certain people affected by the pandemic, while the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program increases the duration of payments for those in the traditional state unemployment system.

Congress created these two temporary programs, along with a four-month weekly $ 600 boost, in its $ 2 trillion aid package nearly a year ago to help dampen laid-off workers during the pandemic-driven economic downturn. The programs have been extended and the $ 300 weekly improvement has been added as part of the lawmakers’ $ 900 billion emergency loan agreement passed in December.
President Joe Biden stressed that millions of struggling Americans are out of work, and called for a $ 400 boost and continued programs until the end of September as part of the massive relief package he unveiled just before taking office .

Asked about the Senate Dem Unemployment Insurance Agreement, a senior administration official said the White House “is definitely fine with it”, pointing out that the first $ 10,200 benefits are no longer taxable, something the government tried to figure it out to address. ”

Race after a deadline

However, the differences in the Senate and House bills are another issue that the two chambers need to work out before sending the final legislation to the President for his signature.

Legislators’ self-imposed deadline for passing the emergency relief package on March 14 is fast approaching. This is when Americans who are not working will start running out of benefits in the two programs, which will then phase out in the following month. The $ 300 improvement also ends next weekend.

An estimated 11.4 million workers will lose their unemployment benefits between mid-March and mid-April unless Congress acts, a recent study by The Century Foundation found.

Even if lawmakers complete the bill in the coming days, some unemployed Americans may see a decline in benefits, as it could take a few weeks before state unemployment agencies program the new provisions in their systems.

CNN’s Manu Raju and Phil Mattingly contributed to this report.

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