Blake Burman of FOX Business on the rise in unemployment fraud during the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 11 million Americans are at risk of losing their unemployment benefits in mid-March if Congress does not approve another aid package before that, according to a new report published this week.
About 11.4 million workers will be left without income between March 14 and April 11, when two major federal unemployment benefits programs created a year ago under the CARES Act – and extended in the $ 900 billion aid package that Congress passed in December – they will expire, according to a study published on Wednesday by the Century Foundation, a nonprofit think tank.
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Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), a program designed to provide unemployment benefits to gig workers and others who are not normally eligible for benefits, and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), which extends state unemployment benefits for another 13 weeks, are set to expire in about a month.
Another program that is increasing unemployment benefits by $ 300 a week will also end on March 14.
“This last extension is ending almost as soon as it started,” said the Century Foundation report.
Up to 5 million Americans are expected to use extended benefits (PEUC), while 6.4 million will be without PUA benefits for several weeks. It is estimated that 4 million workers face the so-called “hard cliff”, which means that the aid they are receiving will end abruptly on March 14. A little more than 7 million workers face a “soft cliff” and will see their benefits end sometime between March 14 and April 11. Even if they are entitled to additional weeks of unemployment benefits, they will not be able to receive benefits through PEUC or PUA.
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Job losses remain high as COVID-19 cases across the country continue to trigger blocking measures.
The longer workers are unemployed, the more likely they are to withdraw their savings to survive and increase loans. A 2010 study indicates that 24% of workers facing long-term unemployment have stopped paying a mortgage or rent, while about 10% have declared personal bankruptcy.
Congressional Democrats are moving forward with the approval of a nearly $ 2 trillion coronavirus aid package, with the aim of passing the legislation by the end of the month and sending it to President Biden’s desk before the July 14 cut. March.
A bill launched by House Democrats this week includes a $ 1,400 stimulus check for Americans earning less than $ 75,000, expanded tax credits for low-income children and families, and increased unemployment benefits to $ 400 per week until the end of August.
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