The law funds special unemployment programs and $600 stimulus payments, as well as providing aid to people who need help with rent, struggling transit, schools and businesses.
The agreement reached Sunday does not include direct funding for state and local governments but does extend the amount of time they have to spend previously appropriated federal funds.
A $748 billion proposal would fund initiatives like unemployment insurance and the Paycheck Protection Program, while a separate $160 billion bill would provide state and local aid, but also a liability shield.
State unemployment agencies have been demanding recipients repay thousands of dollars, even if the agency made the mistake and the money’s already been spent. After ProPublica investigated the practice, legislators are trying to end it.
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | DOJ investigates Kansas City’s contracting policies… cities expand pilot programs providing guaranteed income... Mississippi prisons deal with understaffing.
States rushed to get unemployment benefits approved when the pandemic struck. Reviews are now identifying millions of dollars in overpayments that they want workers to repay.
Federal safety net programs that have provided additional unemployment benefits for workers who lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic are set to end.
State unemployment agencies have started automating identity verification in the hopes of more quickly processing record numbers of new applications. But experts say more fixes to flawed systems are also necessary.
New survey data from the Urban Institute presents these and other troubling findings about how many Americans are faring economically as the coronavirus pandemic wears on.
State unemployment systems were overwhelmed by filings during the pandemic. A new report lays out basic steps states can take to make the claims process easier for users.