EVERETT, Wash. — Millions of Americans lost their unemployment benefits Saturday night after President Trump refused to sign a bi-partisan relief package approved by Congress, and Republicans blocked a last-minute boost to payments, though it was requested by the president.
Michelle Hanson of Everett has been laid off twice this year from her job at a restaurant in Bellevue, both times when Washington closed indoor dining to slow the spread of COVID-19. She said her standard unemployment has run out, and she’s been relying on federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), which is one of two programs expiring on Dec. 26 without intervention.
“It’s unnerving,” she said. “I have three kids that really like to, you know, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. They really enjoy power and running water. It’s not just me I have to worry about. I have kids I need to worry about as well.”
Adding to her concerns was confusion following Gov. Inslee’s announcement earlier this month that the state would step in to fill the gap for some unemployment benefits if federal help faltered. But it’s unclear how the details of that state-funded plan would or will work, as the federal deadline passed.
At issue: the $900 billion aid package. After Congress agreed on $600 stimulus checks, President Trump announced that must be raised to $2,000 per person, and called for other spending cuts. When Democrats brought that payment boost forward, Republicans blocked it, leaving the plan in limbo.
Washington Commissioner of the Employment Security Dept. Suzi LeVine celebrated Congress passing the measure initially, calling the looming threat of benefits evaporating "terrifying" for families.
This is now the situation Hanson is facing.
“What I do know is this needs to get done,” she said Saturday night. “It’s not just the $600 or the $20,00 stimulus check. It’s the weekly unemployment benefits that are keeping us alive.”
Unemployment benefits are administered by the states. Hanson shared a Dec. 23 email from the Washington Employment Security Dept. that explains ESD “won’t be able to issue benefits" to PEUC and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA - a program for gig workers and freelancers that would not usually qualify for unemployment) if the stimulus bill was not signed Saturday.
On Facebook, ESD wrote claims for the week ending with Dec. 26 will not be affected, but “Benefits in *future* weeks will be impacted" if the bill is not signed.
ESD also encouraged people to keep filing weekly claims for benefits, and warned not to call the claims center unless "absolutely necessary," saying call volume is still high.
Hanson may qualify for Extended Benefits (EB), but ESD notes applications may not be available until the week of Jan. 3. She worries that could lead to a lapse in payments, a difficult prospect with her savings long-depleted.
Hanson said she felt like she and other families facing similar hardship are being forgotten, as politicians fight over various aspects of the stimulus, and benefits are allowed to lapse.
“It’s time to put your money where your mouth is,” she said.
“There are real people being impacted by this,” she said. “Not just people dying from COVID, but so many other impacts being felt around the nation. And we’re real people with real families that desperately need help. We need answers, and we need help. And it seems like that has been pushed to the side.”
Calls to ESD and the Governor's office were not returned Saturday.