The facts are clear. We must act now to provide emergency relief to American workers facing long-term unemployment. But we can't stop there. It's also past time we put in place practical solutions to eliminate long-term unemployment altogether. Ignoring this issue risks inflicting permanent damage on our workforce and our economy.
Our first priority must be to help these Americans make it through the pandemic. The CARES Act expanded eligibility for unemployment assistance, increased the weekly benefit by $600, and provided an extra thirteen weeks of support.
But the $600 increase expired at the end of July, and the other measures will run out at the end of December. The House-passed HEROES Act would extend all of these programs, but Senate Republicans have refused for months to allow even a vote on the measure. It's time for Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to come back to the negotiating table and vote on emergency relief: 3.9 million long-term unemployed workers are counting on us to act.