Jobless Claims Rise As Senate Republicans Refuse to Extend Unemployment Relief, Creating “Now Unavoidable” Fiscal Cliff

DSCC spokesperson Stewart Boss issued the following statement on the new report that jobless claims rose while Republicans in the Senate refuse to extend emergency unemployment relief that will expire on Saturday:

“For Americans who rely on federal emergency unemployment relief to feed their families, pay the rent or mortgage and provide a bridge through this crisis, their relief will run out in two days. After a two-week recess, Senate Republicans wasted days bickering and then told the White House they would not allow for an extension of the resources that millions of Americans need. Mitch McConnell and Republicans in the Senate are proving once again that they are unwilling to do what is right, even during a public health and economic crisis.”

Reports have detailed how “millions of American workers are suffering from economic whiplash” and allowing the additional emergency unemployment relief to expire would put a further “financial squeeze” on communities. Despite an overwhelming majority of voters supporting an extension of the $600 per week emergency unemployment benefit, Mitch McConnell and his caucus took a two-week summer break instead of working on solutions to avert this mess. But as millions remain out of work, Senate Republicans are closer to “revolt” than an actual plan for renewing this desperately needed aid.

POLITICO: A gap in federal unemployment benefits is now unavoidable. Here’s why.

Key Points:

• Tens of millions of laid-off American workers will go weeks without federal jobless aid — because Congress hasn’t renewed the benefits in time for overwhelmed state unemployment systems to adjust their computers.

• State offices will need weeks to reprogram their systems to account for an extension of the $600 weekly federal payments that expire on Saturday — or any changes that Congress makes to the benefit amount or eligibility rules.

• In some states with particularly antiquated systems, it’s already too late to prevent a lapse, even though the federal benefits haven’t officially expired, according to people familiar with how the systems work.

• A gap in the federal program could be devastating for laid-off workers, many of whom are on the verge of eviction and are already behind on their bills.

• It’s unlikely Congress will act before Saturday, but even if they do, states have already prepared their systems to cut off the benefits. Republicans want to cut the amount or change how benefits are calculated to prevent workers from making more money on unemployment than they did at their jobs.

• Any changes could create an accounting disaster for the state systems, which are still struggling to keep up as the number of new workers applying for unemployment benefits each week remains at nearly two times the peak seen during the Great Recession.

• More than one million new unemployment applications have poured into state agencies each week for 17 straight weeks, piling onto state backlogs. Across the country about 10 to 15 percent of applications are still waiting to be processed, said Andrew Stettner, a fellow at the Century Foundation.

• Once workers finally receive their benefits they’re “beyond grateful” and “relieved,” Mansouri said, “However, at this point, they may have already lost their home, their car may have already been repossessed.”

POLITICO: ‘It’s a mess’: Congress prepares to lurch over unemployment aid cliff

Key Points:

• A dysfunctional Congress is about to go careening off yet another fiscal cliff — but this will hurt a hell of a lot more than most.

• Tens of millions of unemployed Americans are about to lose their economic lifeline during the worst recession in 80 years, with eviction protections set to expire at the same time.

• As the final unemployment checks are set to be processed this weekend, Capitol Hill has begun to feel some urgency. Still, it’s likely too late, with the two parties far apart on coronavirus relief legislation. House Democrats passed their plan two months ago, which would have extended those benefits. But Senate Republicans just began drafting their bill this week and face real divisions within their own ranks.

• Without quick action from Congress, the still-growing ranks of America’s unemployed will receive their final round of an extra $600 benefit within days, with no certainty about when more help might arrive. And that’s led to finger-pointing and frustration on Capitol Hill.

• “Do I think it’ll lapse? Yeah I do, because the Senate’s not going to get its act together in time,” Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) added Wednesday.

• “I think it reflects poorly that we can’t seem, in the United States Congress, to be able to get Mitch McConnell to do anything,” said a visibly frustrated Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), the No. 5 Democrat in the House. “He’s facing the urgency that we knew existed a month ago, so I understand the frustration of the American people. It’s very real,” Luján said, pulling out his cell phone to show text messages from people seeking help after losing their jobs and health insurance.

• Republicans, in particular, find themselves in a bind… Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) favored a pause in new stimulus money while lawmakers evaluated the effectiveness of the previous multi-trillion-dollar package passed in March.

• “This is a dysfunctional Senate,” added Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). “It’s just outrageous that Sen. McConnell has refused to take up that or any portion of it to relieve anxiety.”

• McConnell has said he doesn’t expect a bipartisan deal to make it through Congress for at least two weeks — a time frame that would mean at least one federal unemployment check, and possibly more, would be delayed.

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