Even if Congress strikes a deal regarding the COVID-19 relief bill, the experts believe that around 12 million Americans will lose their jobless benefits in the upcoming week.
Lawmakers are trying to figure out the contents of the coming bill, regarding the time for which the unemployment insurance will get extended for independent contractors and gig workers who qualifies for the employment insurance through the Unemployment Assistance program during the pandemic and the people who are unemployed for a long-term having finished their benefits granted to form the PEUC program. The bill will probably extend the jobless benefits for at least 10 weeks.
Evermore On Jobless Benefits
According to Michele Evermore, Policy Analyst, NELP, before the benefits expire on 26th December, if Congress manages to pass a bill, it will take around 2-3 weeks for turning the benefits on. From next week, millions of Americans will receive long-term benefits, and PUA will at least lose the weekly payments temporarily. Evermore added that due to the states operating their UI system, it requires time for getting the system running every time there is a change in the law.
The same problem happened when President Trump declared the executive order for using FEMA funds for providing an additional $300 inside jobless benefits for some weeks after increased $600/week benefits expired in July. The states took months to deliver additional funds to the eligible people. Evermore said in his blog post that while there will be some lag in getting the payments, no gap would be there ineligibility. So when the states begin making payments, the states would have to be retroactive to the date mentioned in the bill.
All these will be dependable on what Congress includes inside the bill plus when the bill passes. Presently, jobless benefits are the main topics in the negotiations. The package will also include a slimmed-down second stimulus check.
