The White House and Senate Republicans are discussing a side deal to extend the enhanced unemployment benefits set to expire at the end of the month, Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio said Wednesday.
“[That] is something that’s certainly being looked at,” he told Bloomberg TV.
The enhanced payment is currently $600 a week on top of the regular unemployment payment that goes to jobless workers.
The $600 payment has come under fire by Republican lawmakers because many workers who receive it get more from unemployment than they did at their prior job.
On average, unemployment benefits across the country were $385 per week in February 2020, according to the House Ways and Means Committee. When combined with the added benefit, jobless workers receive nearly $1,000 a week. The median salary for a grocery store cashier, an essential worker, is roughly $600 a week, according to Salary.com.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, has stated that he will not extend the $600 payment in the next relief bill, but the White House has proposed extending the payment at a lower dollar figure.
President Trump on Tuesday suggested that the payment be $420 a week.
“They’re thinking about doing 70% of the amount,” he told reporters.
Other estimates from the White House have the payment lowered to between $200 and $400 a week. It is unclear if McConnell would support either of these amounts.
The White House originally expected to include an extension of the payment in the next coronavirus relief package produced by the Senate, the contents of which were to be released this week and approved before August.
That timeline has reportedly fallen to the wayside, as Senate Republicans and the Trump administration cannot agree on what provisions should be included in the overall bill.
Talks now could continue into August, meaning that the enhanced unemployment benefit will expire before the Senate approves its bill unless lawmakers pass a stand-alone extension of the payment.
It is unclear if an agreement will be reached on this issue. It is also unclear if the Democratic-led House would agree to a lower payment. In May, it extended the $600 payment through January, which the Senate has not acted on.
