“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has seemingly abandoned his earlier proposal to add an extra $300 per week to state and federal unemployment payments, at least according to his latest coronavirus relief proposal. In September, McConnell introduced legislation that would have expanded weekly unemployment benefits, at least through the end of the year. It was short of the added $600 unemployed workers had received April through July, but would also have provided lump sum payments equivalent to $300 for each week that had lapsed since the more generous federal supplement expired. On Tuesday, after a bipartisan group of lawmakers embraced that $300 increase, McConnell countered with a new short-term extension of current programs ― but no supplemental funds at all. McConnell’s latest offer is part of a broader pandemic relief bill that he characterized on Wednesday as the product of conversations with administration officials and “reflecting what the president is ready to sign into law.” The president previously supported the $600, and after it expired, used emergency powers to give the unemployed an extra $300 in “lost wages assistance” for several weeks. A McConnell spokesperson declined to comment on the decreased generosity between his September and December unemployment proposals. If Congress does nothing, nearly 12 million workers will lose unemployment benefits on Dec. 26, when two more programs in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) expire. When lawmakers created those programs in March, they thought the pandemic would be over in a few months. That clearly didn’t happen, and now we are heading into what is expected to be the worst period of the pandemic so far. One of the new federal unemployment programs pays gig workers and others without regular payroll jobs who are ineligible for regular unemployment insurance, and the other provides an extra 13 weeks of benefits to people who run out of the standard six months of unemployment compensation provided by states. Extra weeks of benefits are a standard part of the congressional response to every recession since World War II. McConnell’s bill would extend the existing programs through January, then keep them in place an extra two months for those who already started claiming benefits ― meaning people laid off after January get nothing. (His previous bill ignored the programs.) “These programs have been championed by our Democratic colleagues,” McConnell said Wednesday, as though Democrats were the ones who had changed their position. In a sharp contrast, a Democratic bill introduced Tuesday would extend current programs and keep them so long as the national unemployment rate is above 5.5%, create additional weeks of benefits and bring back the $600 until the end of next year. (The national unemployment rate is 6.9% but economists worry it could rise as the pandemic worsens.) “McConnell’s disastrous proposal doesn’t add any additional weeks of benefits for Americans who are experiencing long-term unemployment, or reinstate any weekly boost to benefits,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who introduced the Democratic bill with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Separately, Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sent an updated version of their broader coronavirus relief proposal to McConnell, but declined to share details. Their previous pandemic bill, which passed the House in October, would bring back the $600, extend all programs through January, and create an additional 13 weeks of benefits for the long-term jobless. Also on Tuesday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House and Senate announced a compromise “framework” that would add $300 to weekly unemployment programs and extend them for four months. Other elements of the framework include small business aid and funding for state and local governments, which Democrats have demanded, and a temporary clampdown on coronavirus-related lawsuits, which is McConnell’s top priority. The bipartisan group did not mention extra weeks of benefits as part of their deal, but they provided little detail about any part of the proposal, which they described less as a piece of legislation than a demonstration that Republicans and Democrats could collaborate. “It’s inexcusable for us to leave town and not have an agreement,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said. A HuffPost Guide To Coronavirus Which airlines are blocking out middle seats for holiday travel? How does the coronavirus spread differently than the flu? Can you close your COVID “bubble” without losing friends forever? Is it safe to see grandparents over the holidays? How can you help a friend with anxiety when you’re also struggling? Everyone deserves accurate information about COVID-19. Support journalism without a paywall — and keep it free for everyone — by becoming a HuffPost member today.
Trump Administration Lowballs Unemployment Benefits In New COVID-19 Offer
144 Views0 Comments0 Likes
["The latest stimulus offer from the White House comes with one-time $600 payments for most Americans and a lump of coal for the unemployed. The new proposal offered by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin swapped the $3...
Mitch McConnell’s Liability Shield Is Major Holdup For COVID-19 Deal
65 Views0 Comments0 Likes
["A bipartisan group of senators is trying to negotiate a compromise involving Republican and Democratic priorities for another coronavirus relief bill, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has pointedly refuse...
19 Incredible Pumpkin Pie Recipes, Because One Is Never Enough
135 Views0 Comments0 Likes
[]["Everything Thanksgiving: Get all our Thanksgiving recipes, how-to’s and more!Pumpkin pie is one of the quintessential Thanksgiving desserts. And while the pilgrims’ idea of pumpkin pie was radically different from...
Millions Will Lose Unemployment Aid This December Unless Congress Acts Fast
64 Views0 Comments0 Likes
["Nearly 12 million workers on Dec. 26 will lose additional unemployment benefits on Dec. 26 if lawmakers fail to reach a reauthorization deal. At the outset of the coronavirus pandemic in March, Congress sprang into...
Harvard Law Professor Nails The Hypocrisy Of Mitch McConnell’s Defense Of Donald Trump
70 Views0 Comments0 Likes
["Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe on Tuesday pointed out the stunning hypocrisy of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) defense of President Donald Trump for raising baseless allegation...
Mitch McConnell Says Trump Is ‘100% Within His Rights’ To Challenge Election
62 Views0 Comments0 Likes
["Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) stood firmly behind Donald Trump on Monday as the president continues to raise baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud in an election he has refused to concede t...
Mitch McConnell Beats Amy McGrath To Win Reelection In Kentucky Senate Race
125 Views0 Comments0 Likes
["AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell won a seventh term in Washington by defeating former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath in a high-profile contest. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McCon...
To Beat Mitch McConnell, Democrats Need A Last-Minute Miracle From Amy McGrath
114 Views0 Comments0 Likes
["ILLUSTRATION: REBECCA ZISSER/HUFFPOST; PHOTOS: GETTY Another battle to defeat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky is shaping up much like his previous reelection contests: with a relatively easy victo...