Republican lawmakers voted Thursday to stop a $300 weekly federal supplement that is added to unemployed workers’ benefits in Michigan, though the measure is expected to be vetoed when it reaches Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the Associated Press reported. The GOP-controlled Legislature passed the bill on party lines, 19-16 in the Senate and 57-51 in the House. It would require the $300 pandemic benefit to end July 31. Supporters have said the supplement, which is on top of the maximum state benefit of $362 a week, discourages people from rejoining the workforce. It is due to cease Sept. 4 under federal law. About half of states, nearly all of them with Republican governors, have opted to end the extra benefit early. “It doesn’t make any sense for the federal government to pay people not to work when we’ve moving moving the state back to normal,” Rep. Beth Griffin, a Mattawan Republican, said last week, days before Michigan’s COVID-19 capacity restrictions and mask requirements were lifted. Whitmer, however, has said a lack of child care is a bigger barrier to filling jobs and wants to expand a state “workshare” program so employers can hire new workers who, while working, would still get the $300 weekly benefit.
