1.5 Million Americans Filed New Unemployment Claims Last Week as Senate Republicans Keep Refusing to Extend Needed Relief

DSCC spokesperson Stewart Boss issued the following statement on new numbers released today from the U.S. Department of Labor showing 1.5 million additional workers filed claims for unemployment benefits last week:

“With another 1.5 million new jobless claims, nearly 46 million Americans have filed for unemployment since March. Millions of Americans have lost their health coverage, nearly 120,000 have died, and new reports show that Americans are skipping doctor visits and delaying life-saving medical care amid a global health crisis because they can’t afford it. Despite this enormous crisis, Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans are pushing to gut enhanced unemployment benefits next month as they continue to drag their feet on further aid. Week after week, Republicans continue to choose inaction over providing the relief that our frontline workers, health providers, small businesses, and state and local governments urgently need.”

Senate Republicans have praised President Trump’s dangerously insufficient pandemic response instead of holding the White House accountable. While millions of Americans continue to file unemployment claims, Mitch McConnell and his caucus are refusing to extend the bipartisan $600 per week boost to unemployment benefits — which has been an essential lifeline for millions of Americans struggling with losing jobs and income — as they “punt” on future relief.

And in the middle of a global pandemic, as millions of Americans are newly uninsured, Senate Republicans are plowing forward with their agenda to “terminate” health care and make it harder for Americans who have lost their health insurance to get care. Vulnerable Republicans have refused to hold the Trump administration responsible for its unpopular decision to keep special enrollment closed, moved forward with their lawsuit to tear down the entire health care law that expanded Medicaid and provides protections for pre-existing conditions, and have “no plan” to help make it easier for the uninsured to obtain health coverage.

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