Trump’s Ego Could Cost Millions Of Unemployed Am
Post# of 123761
The president’s delay in signing COVID-19 relief legislation could have major consequences.
By Alanna Vagianos
President Donald Trump dragged his feet in signing a new COVID-19 relief bill, which could cost over 14 million unemployed Americans a full week of aid.
Congress passed a COVID-19 relief bill last week after months of negotiations. The emergency relief came at the last minute ― the federal programs Congress created earlier this year to help Americans who lost their jobs due to the pandemic expired on Dec. 26. But Trump, who had shown little interest in participating in COVID-19 relief discussions, cast doubt on the package in the eleventh hour and essentially threatened to veto it unless Congress reconvened to negotiate a new deal. Trump caved on his demands, begrudgingly signing the bill on Sunday night.
His delay will have real-life consequences for millions of Americans, although experts are still sorting out the potential damage. The worst case would be for unemployment recipients to miss out on one week of the extra $300 included in the bill, according to Michele Evermore, an unemployment policy expert with the National Employment Law Project. That would mean 10 weeks of extra federal employment benefits rather than the 11 included in the legislation.