Washington state extends pandemic assistance as Trump stalls federal relief package
Washingtonians in need will see their unemployment benefits continue despite a lapse in federal funding, following a Sunday announcement by Gov. Jay Inslee.
Inslee announced the state will spend $54 million to extend benefits for 94,555 people by providing a one-time $550 payment per claimant, according to a news release. The state funding comes after President Donald Trump stalled a bipartisan COVID-19 relief and spending bill, causing some unemployment benefits to expire.
“We are providing a bridge for some Washingtonians until the federal government finally acts,” Inslee said in a news release. “It is extremely unfortunate that the president has missed the deadline and allowed much-needed unemployment benefits to lapse for struggling workers and families.”
Trump has criticized the bill and demanded larger COVID-19 relief checks, jeopardizing the relief package amid economic hardship and critical COVID-19 infection rates across the country. Even if Trump signs the bill in the next couple of days, Washington residents could lose a week of pandemic unemployment assistance, the release read.
“The relief bill was negotiated by his own administration, supported by both Republicans and Democrats and passed with overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate,” Inslee said. “His last-minute demands can and should be dealt with separately, but instead, the president has chosen to hold the entire relief package hostage.”
The funding will go through the Employment Security Department which will issue the payment to all claimants who will lose federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits at the end of December. The emergency payments of CARES Act funds will be issued to all PUA claimants who submitted a claim for the week ending Nov. 21 and were paid for that week on or before Dec. 24.
Inslee said in the release that this funding was prepared as a backup plan in case federal funding stalled. However, he said the state needs federal assistance to see all benefits through.
“This does not solve all the problems caused by the president’s inaction — we are doing what we can, but we simply do not have the ability to replace all of the unemployment supports in the relief package,” Inslee said in the release.
If Trump signs the federal relief bill, pandemic unemployment assistance will be extended through March 14, the release read. This specific type of assistance provides benefits for people ineligible for regular unemployment insurance, including contractors and self-employed workers, according to the release.
Suzi LeVine, Employment Security Department Commissioner, stated in a news release that $550 per claimant equals about two weeks’ worth of benefits for most pandemic assistance recipients.
“We know how critical these payments are to individuals and families across the state and we’re grateful to the governor for his leadership on this,” LeVine said in the release. “We will issue these one-time payments this week so that eligible claimants will have the funds as they head into the New Year.”
To learn more, go to esd.wa.gov/pandemic-relief.
This story was originally published December 27, 2020 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Washington state extends pandemic assistance as Trump stalls federal relief package."
