Just after 8pm on Sunday December 27th Trump finally signed the omnibus bill that contains the relief bill passed by Congress a week ago. We are so glad to see some relief will go out.
Unfortunately (and unnecessarily) he waited until the day after PUA & PEUC lapsed. This not only caused panic over the holidays for millions of people, but it also means there could be a lapse in benefits and a loss of one week of the FPUC $300. Unemployment experts and advocates on the hill are fighting for there not to be a lapse in benefits and for the FPUC $300 to start this week, but that is not confirmed yet. We will keep you updated on this.
We will also keep you updated as we learn about implementation. We do not know if people whose benefits have already lapsed need to reapply or just continue claiming. This will likely vary by state so you should check your state's Department of Labor website, twitter, etc. They should put out an announcement about this in the next couple of days. They may not know the answer yet either since the bill just passed last night.
(You can find your state's DOL website by googling your state Department of Labor. You can also search for social media accounts - some state's have them - some do not.)
The House will be voting today on an amendment to change the amount of the stimulus payments fro $600 to $2K. If that amendment passes the House, it will then need to pass the Senate. That amendment is called Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help (CASH) Act of 2020 and you can read the text of it at the bottom of this post.
If you need a review of the relief package that has just passed, it is here.
What's Next? From Our Co-Founders:
This December relief bill is certainly not enough, but it will help so many survive temporarily.
We will continue the fight for the relief The People need & deserve on this issue and into the next Congress and administration. We need a solution for the lack of retroactivity in this bill and we will be advocating for it.
We accomplished this relief so far together and we will need to continue to work together for the robust and retroactive assistance we need and deserve in 2021. We ask that you please, stay with us in this fight. We cannot do it without you. Your advocacy made the difference.
In solidarity and unity, always, Stephanie and Grant
If you are able to donate to keep these efforts going, we are entirely funded out of our own unemployed pockets and with a few donations which we greatly appreciate. ExtendPUA.org/donate
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