Unemployment Benefits To Expire As Coronavirus Talks Deadlock

By Staff Reporter
Posted on 07/31/20 | News Source: The Hill

Enhanced unemployment benefits are set to expire as congressional negotiators are deadlocked over a coronavirus relief deal.

The additional $600 a week in unemployment insurance that Congress provided in late March will sunset on Friday at midnight, dealing a significant financial blow to millions of jobless Americans amid a weakening labor market.

Lawmakers had hoped the deadline, which was known for months, would result in the kind of eleventh-hour agreement that was once commonplace in Washington. But in a sign of how far apart negotiators are, the Senate left town for the week on Thursday, ensuring Congress will careen over the fast-approaching unemployment cliff.

"I think this is something that we saw the deadline coming and knew that we needed to take action. We haven't been able to reach consensus and that's unfortunate, but we need to respond and people expect us to," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

The consequences of inaction are severe: After trending downward since March, unemployment claims rose for the second week in a row, according to Labor Department data released Thursday morning. Roughly 30 million Americans have filed jobless claims since the pandemic began. Read more at The Hill