- President Donald Trump did not sign the latest coronavirus relief legislation before midnight on Saturday, costing unemployed workers a week of $ 300 federal benefits.
- State agencies can only distribute benefits for weeks when the account is enacted, which means that the delay can cause unemployment benefits to be spread over 10 weeks instead of the intended 11.
- About 14 million Americans also lost unemployment insurance, as two federal programs expired on Saturday.
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President Donald Trump did not sign the latest coronavirus relief legislation until midnight on Saturday, a move that should cost unemployed workers at least a week of $ 300 in federal unemployment benefits.
Trump suggested that he could reject the $ 900 billion stimulus package, passed in both chambers of Congress earlier this week, unless it includes $ 2,000 stimulus checks for Americans.
The account currently includes checks for $ 600, along with $ 300 weekly federal unemployment insurance.
“I simply want our great people to receive $ 2,000, instead of the meager $ 600 that is now in the account. Also, stop the billions of dollars in ‘pork’,” Trump tweeted Saturday morning.
The president has not made it clear whether he will sign the legislation, but the delay puts other federal assistance programs in jeopardy and could be costly to Americans whose unemployment benefits were due to resume on December 26.
By not signing the bill before the end of Saturday, Trump effectively cut a $ 300 week in federal unemployment benefits for the unemployed, according to Michele Evermore, a policy expert at the National Employment Law Project.
But she warned that it is difficult to project without federal guidance how the delay would affect other unemployment programs.
“I’m not sure how it will be interpreted – at the very least, we missed a week out of $ 300,” Evermore told Insider. “No matter what, if he doesn’t sign, next week he’ll drop to 10 weeks of extra $ 300.”
The $ 300 federal unemployment supplement included in the bill is scheduled to end on March 14, a date that will not change based on when the bill actually becomes law.
Depending on when the bill is signed, employment agencies may restart payments during the first week of January. Since states cannot offer benefits in the weeks before the bill is passed, the $ 300 supplement can last only 10 weeks, instead of the intended 11.
About 14 million people are at risk of losing unemployment insurance, since Saturday was the last day on which two federal unemployment programs distributed their payments. They are Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for concert workers and freelancers and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation for people who have exhausted state benefits.
In tweets on Saturday, including one sent hours before midnight, Trump again asked the relief bill to include higher stimulus checks.
Trump may still sign the package in the coming days, although he has not indicated whether he will.