Momentum builds in Congress for more COVID stimulus. How much would the unemployed get?
An extra $300 a week for eligible unemployed Californians is getting serious consideration from Republicans and Democrats in Washington as they push hard for a compromise economic aid plan.
While details are yet to be worked out — and disagreements could still hamstring any final result — a group of bipartisan lawmakers is expected to unveil early this week specifics of a $908 billion economic stimulus plan that could add $300 in jobless benefits to weekly unemployment payments through the end of March.
Congressional leaders have not agreed to details. But “there is momentum” for a compromise relief package, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Friday.
“Compromise is within reach,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky., told colleagues in a floor speech Thursday before senators left for the weekend. He has been pushing for a less expensive package. But he also said Monday in a Senate floor speech that if Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer would support a vote, “re-upping unemployment aid...could pass the Senate by a landslide.”
Eligible unemployed claimants had received an extra $300 this summer after executive action by President Donald Trump. In California, eligible claimants could get up to five weeks of extra benefits. The program ended in September.
The new bipartisan plan has $180 billion nationwide for the benefits. The $300 would be added to regular weekly amounts. In California, that would mean a maximum payment would go from $450 weekly to $750.
The extra $300 would be available until the end of March, and retroactive to December 1, according to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who has led the bipartisan effort.
While that would hardly be a cure-all for a still-staggering economy, it would help, said Michael Shires, associate professor of public policy at Pepperdine University in Malibu.
But don’t think a relief package is going to suddenly revive the state economy in any major way, he said.
The stay-at-home orders rolling out in California could have a chilling effect, and any increase in unemployment benefits would remain temporary.
If those extra payments ended in March, it would be a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and many businesses could be shutting down after 12 months of poor sales.
“Anything you can do will help consumer confidence,” Shires said. “And this would buy you more time to delay other problems.”
After all, “This bill is a big improvement over the status quo of Congress doing nothing,” said Till von Wachter, faculty director of the California Policy Lab.
He also had a warning: Many workers could start losing benefits as they reach the limit of how much they can receive.
Claimants are restricted as to how many weeks of benefits they can get, and since many began receiving payments in March, they could be bumping against those limits soon.
The federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, due to expire at the end of the year unless Congress extends it in the pending proposal, allows people 46 weeks of benefits.
There’s also concern that an additional $300 will not be enough to adequately provide for people to live comfortably.
From March until July, the government added $600 weekly to payments, and von Wachter found that “enabled people to shelter-in-place while also helping to keep the economy going.”
Next week is likely to be crucial to any potential benefit change, as lawmakers face some quickly approaching deadlines.
The federal government could shut down at the end of this week unless Congress and President Donald Trump approve a budget.
A host of aid programs, including federal unemployment benefits and aid to state and local governments, are due to expire at the end of the month.
The surge in COVID-19 cases, coupled with a still-sluggish economy, has spurred a gridlocked Congress into action on ways to enact an economic stimulus.
So has Friday’s unemployment report, which said the pace of improvement in the labor market has moderated in recent months.”
The $908 billion package also contains $160 billion for aid to state and local governments, a concern of many Republicans.
“I want to know with state and local spending, exactly how that’s going to be allocated. I do not want bailouts. Iowans will not support bailouts,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.
But Republicans, along with Democrats, are largely welcoming the compromise package.
“I like the effort,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota. “It strikes the right balance of compromise and it’s a number that’s doable.”
The bipartisan plan is being pushed by four Democratic, four Republican and one independent senator, as well as four Republican and three Democratic House members.
This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 10:00 AM.
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