On August 8, President Trump issued a on unemployment assistance that would provide an additional $400 in weekly unemployment benefits to be shared between the states and federal government (25 percent and 75 percent, respectively). Previously, the CARES Act included a $600/week increase in supplemental federal unemployment benefits. Those benefits, however, expired on July 31. This presidential action would provide benefits retroactively from August 1 to December 6, 2020. Nevertheless, the action also presents a litany of legal, logistical, and implementation questions that must be resolved before could benefits flow, which would take time to unravel. Íæż½ã½ã recognizes the importance of providing unemployment benefits during the global health crisis and encourages Congress to move toward a model that increases workforce participation—as opposed to creating high articfial barriers to such—and provides further investment in career and technical education.
For more information, contact Jim Young at jim.young@agc.org.