Have They Come to an Agreement on Unemployment
Unlike the Democratic unemployment insurance proposal by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the eight-senators` proposal does not guarantee continued assistance until the unemployment rate falls, nor does it correct structural flaws in unemployment insurance. President-elect Biden and the new Congress must reach an agreement that will maintain THE BENEFITS OF THE PEUC and THE PUA as long as the unemployment rate remains high and the introduction of a vaccine facilitates an economic recovery. In addition, the COVID-19 crisis has made even clearer the need for structural corrections to the unemployment program, including higher government benefits that do not require a surtax, and more comprehensive coverage for women, low-wage workers, gig workers, and workers of color. This safety net infrastructure is an important part of rebuilding the economy with the lessons of the pandemic. After the Senate`s expected passage, it must return to the House of Representatives for approval before heading to Biden`s office for his signature. Senators had voted on a separate amendment to the minimum wage when that vote was kept open, when Democrats began negotiating behind closed doors on unemployment insurance issues and an upcoming vote on it. Senate Democratic leaders reached an agreement on unemployment benefits with moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin III (W.Va) on Friday night, ending a nine-hour standoff that threatened to derail action against President Biden`s $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid bill. “If a senator thinks this is the last time he will vote on whether or not to give an increase to 32 million Americans, he is terribly mistaken. We`re going to talk about it over and over again, and we`re going to do it because that`s what the American people are demanding and needing,” he said. In its final form, the agreement extends the weekly benefit by $300 until September.
6, instead of until the end of September, as proposed Friday morning, and only provides tax relief to people with household incomes below $150,000. A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday unveiled a $908 billion coronavirus bailout, with a potential deal coming on the wire as Congress has until the end of the week to reach a deal that may be tied to longer-term spending legislation. The uncertainty surrounding the regulation of unemployment insurance arose as the Senate was about to plunge into an exhausting “vote-a-rama,” voting on dozens of amendments, one by one, hour after hour, until senators ran out and stopped. Moments ago, two Democratic advisers familiar with the negotiations told CNN that Senate Democrats would now propose an amendment to expand the expanded unemployment insurance program to $300 a week until Sept. 6. The bill passed by the House of Representatives would have provided the benefit until August 29. The package could face opposition from some Democrats in Congress, who have argued that the plan will not provide enough financial aid to struggling Americans. The shutdown comes at a dangerous time for the country`s pandemic-ravaged economy.
As the daily number of deaths from COVID-19 surpassed 3,000 on December 9, states were forced to impose new restrictions on businesses. Not surprisingly, more workers filed new jobless claims in the week ending December 5 than in any other week since September. Job growth had already almost stagnated in November, when the economy created only 245,000 jobs and another 400,000 Americans gave up looking for work. In November, 39.6% of the unemployed had been unemployed for six months or more, the highest level since December 2013. Biden and Democratic leaders are pushing to pass the bill before March 14, when unemployment benefits approved under a previous aid law expire. Final legislation has not yet been released, but the deal is expected to include $600 direct deposits for qualified Americans, a federal unemployment insurance premium of $300 a week, funds to distribute vaccines and more money for companies struggling to pay rent and workers. But the deal Manchin struck will be part of a change — likely proposed by Senator Tom Carper. In addition, Republicans will have an amendment competing with Unemployment Benefits from Senator Rob Portman, who influenced Manchin throughout the day to get him on board. It is not clear whether Manchin will support this.
The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed an unprecedented and relentless wave of unemployment. Forty-one million Americans received unemployment insurance benefits during the pandemic and received increased assistance from the CARES Act passed in March. The record amount of assistance provided included Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (AUP), new benefits for those who are not normally eligible for unemployment insurance; PEUC (Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation), which provides thirteen additional weeks of benefits to the long-term unemployed; and PUC (Pandemic Unemployment Compensation), an additional $600 per week on top of typical benefits (a provision that expired at the end of July). The compromise deal expands federal unemployment benefits to $300 a week by the end of August, according to a Democratic adviser who does not have the power to register it. The first $10,200 in unemployment benefits would not be taxable for households with incomes below $150,000, the consultant said. The original version of the bill, passed by the House of Representatives last week, had the advantage of $400 a week at the end of August. Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said in an interview that he spent the day in several conversations with Manchin and Schumer about the provisions of the unemployment bill. While Wyden was disappointed that the amount of weekly benefits did not increase, he welcomed the extension of benefits until the first week of September and expressed concern about the impact if they were to expire in August if Congress did not sit. McConnell said Sunday from the Senate that he expected the final deal to arrive “in a few hours.” Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Sunday that there were “some open questions, but I`m hopeful we`re getting closer to an outcome.” For example, Secretary Mnuchin reportedly offered spokeswoman Pelosi his own $916 billion package, which would include a $600 per person stimulus package, but would not reactivate additional federal unemployment benefits of $300 per week. It has been reported that the package includes $40 billion for unemployment insurance, which would likely cover the cost of a thirteen-week extension of the PEUC and PUA – but only at low base rates. (Note that the details of this proposal have not been made public, and he could have considered even less aid, but the $40 billion for unemployment insurance is equal to the cost of such a policy.) Table 2 compares the combined income from short-term premiums and unemployment benefits for the typical long-term unemployed.
Specifically, he compares a policy that would provide $4,800 FPUC (sixteen weeks at $300) and sixteen weeks of PUA or PEUC at the state`s weekly base rate to a counter-policy that would offer $600 in incentives and only thirteen weeks of PEUC or PUA. “We had a very strong feeling of avoiding this August cliff. Having a cliff in August is a recipe for chaos. Our priority was to avoid that; we succeeded,” Wyden said. He added: “These are not my first choice. The bipartisan proposal would provide for a federal unemployment benefit of $300 per week for 16 weeks, according to the summary. It would not be retroactive. The bill would extend by four months all pandemic unemployment programs that expire at the end of December.
With Manchin on board, Democrats are now within reach of passing sweeping legislation that would send a new round of stimulus checks for $1,400, $350 billion to cities and states, $130 billion in schools, billions for a national vaccination program, and more — though they must first review dozens of other changes in a chaotic process known as the name of “Vote-a-Rama”, which is safe until the wee hours of Saturdays will last.. .
- Posted by adriel
- On February 22, 2022
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