White House Expresses Interest In Back-To-Work Bonuses For Unemployed

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May 26, 2020

TOPLINE

A top White House official indicated Tuesday that the Trump administration could throw its weight behind a proposal to provide unemployed workers who return to work an extra $450 a week on top of their wages, a possible unifying idea for Republicans in search of an alternative to the expanded unemployment program set to expire soon.

WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 15: Director of the United States National Economic Council Larry Kudlow speaks … [+] to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House on May 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. Kudlow stated that the U.S. economy is essentially still in free fall and argued that the country cannot spend its way out of a pandemic-driven downturn. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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KEY FACTS

Last week, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) proposed the back-to-work bonus idea as a replacement for an extension to the expanded unemployment program set to run out at the end of July; the $600 across-the-board boost to weekly jobless benefits was a staple of the $2 trillion stimulus bill Congress passed in March.

“It’s something we’re looking at very carefully,” Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, said on Fox News on Tuesday morning.

Republicans have expressed widespread opposition towards extending the expanded unemployment program, arguing it disincentives work.

Democrats, meanwhile, want to keep the program going; a $3 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill passed by House Democrats earlier this month would extend the boosted unemployment program through the end of January.

“The trouble with the $600 plus-up, and maybe we needed it in that emergency period, but frankly it’s a major disincentive to go back to work and we don’t want that,” Kudlow said, adding, “We want people to go back to work.”

Under Portman’s plan, the back-to-work bonuses would kick in until July 31, the same date the expanded unemployment program is set to run out.

Crucial quote

“This will not be in the next bill,” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said last week of the expanded unemployment program on a call with House Republicans, according to the Wall Street Journal.

On Fox News last week, McConnell added that “in order to create jobs, we need to incentivize people to go back to work, not encourage them to stay home.”

Key background

The shifting priorities of the two parties on a new stimulus package reflect how differently the two parties view an American recovery: Republicans predict a quick, sharp rebound, while Democrats foresee a slow, painful road back. Therefore, Democrats hope to use the next relief bill as a way to tide Americans over as the economy begins to reopen, while Republicans would prefer to use further stimulus to incentivize work.

White House Expresses Interest In Back-To-Work Bonuses For Unemployed

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