- Two weeks after President Donald Trump signed four executive orders in an effort to bypass congressional negotiations on a new coronavirus incentive package, only one state is offering residents the extra unemployment benefit, reports The Washington Post.
- Trump promised that the federal impetus of $ 300 would be received quickly.
- Many states say it will take weeks or even months to ship the payments.
- Meanwhile, many Americans are struggling to make ends meet.
- Visit the Business Insider website for more stories.
Two weeks after President Donald Trump signed four executive orders in an attempt to pass congressional negotiations on a new coronavirus incentive package, only one state is offering residents the extra unemployment benefit, reports The Washington Post.
On August 8, Trump said he would place a $ 400 weekly order for federal unemployment. The federal government would cover $ 300 and states would cover the remaining $ 100, Business Insider reported earlier.
The executive order was one of four that Trump would sign to try to provide coronavirus relief after measures in the CARES law expired and the White House, Senate Republicans and Democrats were in the House. unable to negotiate an extension.
Two weeks later, however, Arizona alone began sending the extra $ 300 to residents, The Post reported. Thirteen states have been approved to give the benefit, The Post said, but only some said they would add the $ 100.
South Dakota has rejected the advantage; others said they were applying for the benefit or did not specify if they would apply.
Until the end of July, when provisions in the CARES law expired, a large percentage of unemployed workers received a supplement of $ 600 a week from the federal government. In May, House Democrats passed additional legislation on coronavirus relief that extended the $ 600 in benefits, however, some in the GOP slammed the price tag and specific provisions in the bill, and lawmakers were unable to compromise reach.
Trump claimed the $ 600 benefit encouraged Americans to return to work.
“It’s not a hassle. This is the money they need,” he said of the $ 400 benefit. “This is the money they want, and it gives them an incentive to work back.”
According to The Post, there are 28 million unemployed people in the US.
While Trump had promised that the money would be delivered quickly and in a few weeks time, states have said they needed somewhere between a few weeks to a few months to get money out.
Elijah Brunelle, 40, worked as a cook at a nearby nursing home, but due to his chronic circumstances was told he would not return to work by his employer. His family is struggling to pay bills, despite having three roommates, after the unemployment benefit expired and he went from $ 698 a week to $ 198 a week, The Post reported.
“We went from being able to deliver groceries and deliver transportation, to really hard struggles to just pay for something,” Brunelle’s wife Cyn told The Post. “It’s really hard, very difficult, and very stressful.”
