Press Releases

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means Richard Neal (D-MA-01) sent a letter to President Trump urging that he prevent the abrupt cutoff of unemployment benefits for millions of workers next week as the country is regularly setting new daily highs in confirmed coronavirus cases and unemployment rates are at the highest levels since the Great Depression.

 In March, Congress passed a temporary expansion of the unemployment insurance program that is set to expire next week on July 31. This historic expansion has been a lifeline for millions of Americans and has helped ensure that Massachusetts residents who have lost their jobs during this pandemic can stay safely at home and continue providing for their families. While the House of Representatives passed legislation to extend these benefits through the HEROES Act in May, Senate Republicans are eager to let this help expire next week as families are facing the worst economic crisis of their lifetime. 

“For millions of workers and families, unemployment benefits are the only reason they can pay the rent, keep the lights on, and put food on the table,” the lawmakers wrote. “In our home state of Massachusetts, workers are currently scheduled to lose half their benefits. In the United States as a whole, workers will lose even more – an average of 64 percent of the income that’s keeping them afloat.”

“The effect of the benefit cutoff will be equally catastrophic for our economy, deepening the recession and impeding its ability to bounce back” the lawmakers continued. “Without income from unemployment benefits, landlords and banks will see a wave of defaults on rent and mortgages, American businesses will see a sharp drop in demand for goods and services, and market fears will likely do further damage to savings and retirement funds.” 

The text of the letter can be found HERE.

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