The extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits provided the federal government to Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic is expected to expire after Friday as Congress struggles to agree upon the next stimulus package, and a few Republican senators are pitching a last-minute proposal, Yahoo! Money reported. Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) introduced an alternative unemployment benefits (UI) legislation, aiming to prevent a gap in the distribution of the benefits. “Unemployed workers should not be left in limbo while Congress continues to negotiate the next relief package,” Sen. Romney said. “Our solution extends the supplemental benefits for three months and incentivizes states to update their UI processing systems. We should act with urgency to help the millions of Americans who are on the verge of losing these additional benefits.” The proposal suggests allowing states to choose between reducing the unemployment benefits to an 80% wage replacement rate or gradually reducing the extra benefits to — $500 per week in August, $400 per week in September, or $300 per week in October. Until a deal is reached between both parties, jobless Americans will not receive any unemployment benefits beyond what their states allow. Most states pay those benefits on weeks ending on Saturday or Sunday. That means July 25 or July 26 was the last time those workers got the extra $600.
