WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and 33 Democratic colleagues today in pressing the Trump Administration to take additional action to ensure workers receive unemployment insurance benefits as quickly as possible.
The Senators outlined a number of actions the Administration should take to help states disburse supercharged unemployment insurance: provide technological support, assist states in meeting the requirements to receive administrative funding, expand the capacity of the Department of Labor’s verification system, issue outstanding guidance, provide flexibility and proactively reach out to state workforce agencies.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
“In this time of national crisis, it is critical that the Department of Labor (the Department) does everything in its power to support states in administering the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program and distributing benefits. Over 6.6 million Americans filed an unemployment claim in the last week of March. As coronavirus continues to spread, we expect that this number will only get higher,” the Senators wrote. “The Department and state workforce agencies have a monumental task ahead in processing these claims. But, Americans who have lost their jobs don’t have time to wait for a check. People need unemployment compensation now so that they can buy groceries, pay rent, and keep up on their bills. Without it, many Americans won’t be able to make ends meet.”
In addition to Durbin, Duckworth, Wyden, and Schumer, the letter was signed by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Thomas R. Carper (D-DE), Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Angus S. King Jr. (D-ME), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Christopher S. Murphy (D-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Robert P. Casey (D-PA), Jon Tester (D-MT), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-OR), Doug Jones (D-AL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI).
Full text of the letter is available here.
