Democrat lawmakers in California are looking at a plan to provide up to $600 in weekly unemployment payments to jobless state residents if Congress does not renew the benefit.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Assemblyman Phil Ting, a Democrat from San Francisco, said there is a support among Democrat lawmakers for providing the supplement if Congress fails to extend the federal pandemic benefit.
“There are so many people who are relying on that money to pay rent, to buy food. I think the state has to do everything possible to help them pay their bills,” said Ting, chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee.
The plan was raised by Ting and 25 other members of the state Senate and Assembly as part of a $100 billion stimulus plan, according to the newspaper. The plan’s outline includes a proposal to “borrow from the federal government to bolster state unemployment insurance programs.”
Congressional Republicans in Washington are proposing dropping the federal weekly unemployment bonus to $200 a week for two months, and then transitioning it to roughly 70% of workers’ prior earnings when combined with state assistance.
“Millions of Californians are suffering in this economic downturn, and Republicans in Washington, D.C., don’t seem to care,” said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Democrat.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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