DOS_patos
Unverified Legion of Trill member
Several COVID-19 relief programs are set to expire at the end of the year, if Congress and the White House do not act. Lawmakers and the Trump administration have been debating another round of stimulus for months now, but with no deal in sight it looks like more existing provisions could disappear before any new help arrives.
Some of the programs included in the CARES Act earlier this year have already lapsed. The Paycheck Protection Program stopped accepting new applications in August and the $600 in enhanced unemployment benefits stopped at the end of July.
As COVID cases continue to rise, experts say letting more programs expire could be devastating for struggling Americans and slow the economic recovery.
“It could mean that we actually go into another recession,” said Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute. “It's like a massive anti-stimulus action. Instead of spending that money and stimulating the economy, Congress is letting it expire, cutting off that spending, which will drag on the economy radically.”
Unemployment insurance expansions
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs both expire at the end of the year if Washington does not intervene.
PUA allows workers who are not typically eligible for unemployment insurance (gig workers, independent contractors) to access benefits. PEUC provides an extra 13 weeks of unemployment benefits for laid-off workers, after their state benefits run out.
Both the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs are set to expire on December 26 unless Congress reaches a stimulus deal.
“We’ll see increases in poverty. We'll see people facing just impossible decisions between things like paying rent and buying medicine,” said Shierholz. In fact, in October 1 million more Americans fell below the poverty threshold, a study from the University of Chicago found. A total of 7 million Americans have entered poverty since May.
A recent report found more than 12 million people could lose their benefits if these programs lapse. Another 778,000 workers filed for benefits last week, the Labor Department reported Wednesday, and the total number of people claiming unemployment benefits in all programs in the latest week was 20,452,223, an increase from the prior period and exponentially higher than the 1,487,844 people in the comparable year-ago time frame.
Unemployment insurance was a point of contention throughout stimulus negotiations. House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D., Mass.) said letting the $600 weekly boost expire was already a “huge blow” to many Americans and letting PUA and PEUC expire would make things even worse.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Neal said it is “imperative” to extend the programs before the end of the year.
“The CARES Act saved the American economy,” said Neal. “Of all the provisions that we put together, I think perhaps one of the most important, if not the most sound, was the extension and expansion of unemployment insurance. I think it allowed people not only to make rent payments and mortgage payments, but it also allowed those to simultaneously embrace liquidity and create demand.”
Negotiations have been stalled for months, but Neal said he’s hopeful the upcoming government funding deadline on Dec.11 will lead to results.
Volunteer Prince Rojo of North Miami, Fla., prepares to load boxes of food into a car at a food distribution event, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020, in Opa-locka, Fla. The drive-thru food distribution was hosted by Feeding South Florida. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
“There might be an opportunity there to attach a targeted relief package in terms of unemployment insurance. We can't let unemployment insurance expire,” said Neal.
Some of the programs included in the CARES Act earlier this year have already lapsed. The Paycheck Protection Program stopped accepting new applications in August and the $600 in enhanced unemployment benefits stopped at the end of July.
As COVID cases continue to rise, experts say letting more programs expire could be devastating for struggling Americans and slow the economic recovery.
“It could mean that we actually go into another recession,” said Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute. “It's like a massive anti-stimulus action. Instead of spending that money and stimulating the economy, Congress is letting it expire, cutting off that spending, which will drag on the economy radically.”
Unemployment insurance expansions
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs both expire at the end of the year if Washington does not intervene.
PUA allows workers who are not typically eligible for unemployment insurance (gig workers, independent contractors) to access benefits. PEUC provides an extra 13 weeks of unemployment benefits for laid-off workers, after their state benefits run out.
Both the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs are set to expire on December 26 unless Congress reaches a stimulus deal.
“We’ll see increases in poverty. We'll see people facing just impossible decisions between things like paying rent and buying medicine,” said Shierholz. In fact, in October 1 million more Americans fell below the poverty threshold, a study from the University of Chicago found. A total of 7 million Americans have entered poverty since May.
A recent report found more than 12 million people could lose their benefits if these programs lapse. Another 778,000 workers filed for benefits last week, the Labor Department reported Wednesday, and the total number of people claiming unemployment benefits in all programs in the latest week was 20,452,223, an increase from the prior period and exponentially higher than the 1,487,844 people in the comparable year-ago time frame.
Unemployment insurance was a point of contention throughout stimulus negotiations. House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D., Mass.) said letting the $600 weekly boost expire was already a “huge blow” to many Americans and letting PUA and PEUC expire would make things even worse.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Neal said it is “imperative” to extend the programs before the end of the year.
“The CARES Act saved the American economy,” said Neal. “Of all the provisions that we put together, I think perhaps one of the most important, if not the most sound, was the extension and expansion of unemployment insurance. I think it allowed people not only to make rent payments and mortgage payments, but it also allowed those to simultaneously embrace liquidity and create demand.”
Negotiations have been stalled for months, but Neal said he’s hopeful the upcoming government funding deadline on Dec.11 will lead to results.
Volunteer Prince Rojo of North Miami, Fla., prepares to load boxes of food into a car at a food distribution event, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020, in Opa-locka, Fla. The drive-thru food distribution was hosted by Feeding South Florida. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
“There might be an opportunity there to attach a targeted relief package in terms of unemployment insurance. We can't let unemployment insurance expire,” said Neal.