Whether President Donald Trump has the constitutional authority to extend federal unemployment benefits through executive order remains unclear. Right up in the air is whether states that are necessary partners in Mr. Trump’s plan to bypass Congress will sign up.
Mr. Trump on Saturday announced an executive order that extends additional unemployment benefits of $ 400 a week to help kiss the economic fallout of the pandemic. Congress had approved payments of $ 600 a week at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, but those benefits expired on August 1st. Congress is unable to go over an extension.
Many Republicans have expressed concern that a $ 600-a-week benefit, on top of existing state benefits, will give people an incentive to stay unemployed. But under the president’s plan, the $ 400 a week requires a state to commit to delivering $ 100.
Many states are already facing budget crises caused by the pandemic. Asked at a news conference how many executives signed up to participate, Mr. Trump replied, “If they don’t, they don’t. That’s up to them.”
Mr. Trump issued another statement on Sunday night, after a day of state officials asking how they could pay even $ 100 per person in extra weekly payments. He told reporters when he returned to Washington that states could apply to provide the federal government with all or part of the $ 400 payments. Decisions would be made by state, he said.
Several government officials questioned how the initial proposal of Mr. Trump would work and often express doubts that they could pay to participate at the level he initially set without using federal funds.
Aubrey Layne, secretary of finance for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, said in a telephone interview Sunday he believes it would be possible for Virginia to participate in such a program if states allow money to be allocated to it under the already passed CARES Act. He said his preliminary understanding is that states can do this, but he and others are waiting to see the rules published.
The better solution, Layne said, would be for Congress to pass legislation.
“It’s ridiculous to me that Congress can’t get along here,” he said. “I think it would have been better for the president to use his influence in those negotiations, instead of standing on the sidelines and then riding in like a glittering knight.”
Details about the program were confused on Sunday – and that was even before Mr. Trump said states could ask the federal government to pay the $ 400 week payments as part.
At the White House “State of the Nation,” Larry Kudlow said contradictory things about whether federal money depended on an additional contribution from the states. Initially, Kudlow said that “for an additional $ 100, we will raise it. We will pay three-quarters, and the states will pay 25 percent.” In the same interview, however, he said that “at least, we’ll put in $ 300 … but I think all they (the states) have to do is set up an extra dollar, and we’ll be able to throw in the extra $ 100. in. “
A clarifying statement from the White House said the “funds will be available to those who qualify by, among other things, receiving $ 100 / week of existing assistance and certifying that they have lost their jobs due to COVID-19.”
Several advocacy groups following the issue, however, said it is clear the way the executive order is structured that federal money will be conditional on states making a 25 percent contribution.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, called the plan “an impossibility.”
“I do not know if the president is really into thinking that the executive order is a resolution or if this is just a tactic in the negotiations,” Cuomo said. “But this is incompatible with the state. And I expect this is just a chapter in the book of Washington COVID mismanagement.”
In Connecticut, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont said on CBS ‘Face the Nation that the plan would cost his state $ 500 million to provide that benefit for the rest of the year, citing Mr. Trump “not a good idea.”
“I could take that money from testing – I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Lamont said.
“Try to do something”
On CNN, the Republican Ohio Gov. praised. Mike DeWine thanked Mr. Trump for issuing the order.
“He’s trying to do something. He’s trying to move the ball forward,” DeWine said.
Yet he was unconcerned about whether Ohio would participate.
“We’re looking at it right now to see if we can do this,” he said.
In Maryland, Michael Ricci, spokesman for Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, in an email that “we will wait for new guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor before we look into any (unemployment insurance) changes.”
In Minnesota, the Department of Employment and Economic Development Commission Steve Grove said his agency “is awaiting further guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor.”
Kevin Hensil, a spokesman for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania, said “reducing the benefit by a third will make it harder for families to get through and it will place a greater financial burden on states.” He said officials are studying the impact of the cuts.
In Louisiana, Christina Stephens, a spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards “Currently, we are reviewing the President’s order to determine exactly what the impact would be on the state.”
And in Michigan, the Democratic Gov. said. Gretchen Whitmer in a press release that Mr. Trump “cuts federal funding for unemployed workers and requires states that have large gaps in our budgets to provide 25% of the funding.”
On ABC’s “This Week,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., called it “an unworkable plan.”
“Most states will take months to implement it because it’s brand new. It’s kind of put together with spit and paste. And a lot of states, because they have to chip in $ 100, and they have no money, will not do it, ”Schumer said.
Many states struggled to adapt outdated computer systems to meet the $ 600 payment, which along with the massive influx of new claims resulted in long delays in delivering benefits. Reprogramming the computers to record the new amount may result in similar glitches.
On ABC, Kudlow said many of those outdated systems have since been upgraded.
“I do not think there will be a major delay. The Department of Labor has worked with the states. The states are the ones processing the federal benefits sooner. So, I see no reason why it would be so difficult, ” he said.
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