Unemployment benefits expire with the stimulus bill stuck in limbo

by

Emergency unemployment benefits for millions of Americans expired overnight President TrumpDonald Trump: The post office will bear the name of Pearl Harbor’s oldest veterans as federal agents seek residence in Antioch in connection with the Nashville explosion on Sunday show preview: COVID-19 relief awaits signing of Trump; the government continues to deploy MORE and Congress has still been blocked as to the amount of money needed to check for relief as part of a massive coronavirus economic stimulus bill.

President Trump has refused to sign the legislation after requiring Congress to increase the amount of money in individual stimulus checks to Americans from the proposed $ 600 to $ 2,000.

Democrats welcomed Trump’s demand, but Republicans on Capitol Hill rejected the idea.

“It’s the day after Christmas and millions of families don’t know if they will be able to reach two because of President Donald Trump’s refusal to sign a financial aid bill passed by Congress with an overwhelming, bipartisan majority,” he said . President-elect Joe BidenJoe Biden: Biden councilor Ricchetti’s brother, hired as a lobbyist on Amazon, shows preview: COVID-19 replacement awaits Trump’s signing; the government continues to deploy vaccines Global cases of COVID-19 exceed 80 million MORE He said in a statement Saturday that he added that Trump’s refusal to sign the bill would have “devastating consequences” for the American people and the country’s economy.

Trump defended his tough focus on stimulus checks in a tweet Saturday night.

“$ 2,000 + $ 2,000 plus other family members. Not $ 600,” Trump tweeted. “Remember, it was China’s fault!”

An estimated 12 million Americans are affected by inaction.

A program established under legislation earlier this year in the initial response to the coronavirus pandemic provided benefits to performance workers and other people who were not eligible for traditional unemployment, while another helped people who they were long-term unemployed.

A record number of Americans have applied for unemployment benefits since the pandemic began, with many restaurants, bars, hotels and other small businesses closed due to public health orders.

Earl McCarthy, who lives in Georgia and lost his job due to the pandemic, told The Associated Press that he is worried he may not be able to arrive until January without the unemployment benefits he has received in recent weeks.

“The whole experience was horrible,” McCarthy said. “It makes me shudder to think if I hadn’t saved anything or had an emergency fund during those five months, where would we have been?”

The government will close Tuesday unless Trump signs a package that includes a $ 1.4 trillion bus spending bill attached to COVID-19 relief legislation or Congress approves another measure to keep government operations funded. .

Trump has also criticized some spending provisions in funding legislation. His administration supported these provisions during the negotiations on the package, some of which reflected the priorities of the presidential budgets.

.Source