Senate GOP proposes cutting unemployment benefits in coronavirus relief plan

Senate Republicans are proposing to reduce the expanded $600 weekly unemployment benefit as part of their forthcoming coronavirus relief plan.

The GOP proposal, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, will transition to payments equal to roughly 70 percent of an individual’s previous wages.

But states and GOP lawmakers have warned that it could take weeks, if not months, to be able to switch to unemployment benefits that would be scalable based on a person’s wage. Negotiators had discussed doing something similar during the March negotiations but were told by the Labor Department that because of archaic technology it was not possible. Continue reading.