Maryland and Virginia will seek federal funding to give unemployed residents an additional $300 per week in benefits.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday that his state has applied for the funds, which the Trump administration made available through a recent executive order. A spokesperson for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam says the commonwealth will do the same.
But questions about the legality and sustainability of the new $44 billion program, as well as its cost to states, remain. The District hasn’t announced plans to seek the funding in part for these reasons.
With tens of millions of Americans unemployed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump earlier this month signed a memo authorizing the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide unemployment funding to states. This was after the July expiration of a $600 weekly boost in individual jobless benefits that Congress approved last spring. The $600 supplement was a lifeline for many, but it hasn’t been re-upped and Congress hasn’t yet agreed on another coronavirus relief package.
While Trump’s order caused confusion over how the benefits would be implemented and who would be eligible, some states have begun seeking the funds. FEMA has approved 10 states to receive money so far, though only Arizona has started issuing the additional $300, according to Forbes. Under the program’s rules, the supplement is available only to people who are otherwise eligible to receive $100 in weekly unemployment benefits.
Called “Lost Wages Assistance,” the program provides $300 in federal aid but asks states to put in $100, for a maximum $400 boost. To match the federal funds, states may use money they received under the CARES Act — Congress’ original COVID-19 relief bill — or from their regular unemployment insurance programs.
Maryland is pursuing the latter strategy. But Gov. Hogan’s office says this could change if the FEMA funding runs out or Congress approves another unemployment supplement.
It’s unclear how long the enhanced benefits will last. FEMA has initially allocated three weeks’ worth of jobless payments for the program, according to CBS and CNBC. After three weeks, the agency will disburse money to states on a week-by-week basis.
Still, some states see the option as better than nothing. “With this critical funding, we can help those struggling Marylanders weather this storm, get back on their feet, and recover,” Hogan said in a statement. If approved for the funding, Maryland expects the additional benefits to reach residents “in late September,” with the payments retroactive to Aug. 1.
Alena Yarmosky, a spokesperson for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, tells DCist/WAMU via email that the governor’s office is “exploring ways to provide the additional $100 in funding to Virginians, but as noted previously, we face many unanswered questions, administrative hurdles, and severely limited resources.”
Northam’s administration estimates that providing the $100 match would cost the commonwealth $45 million a week, per the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The governor is also urging Congress to put together “a robust package with more funding — and not make states, yet again, implement a whole new unemployment program that could take weeks to start,” Yarmosky says.
D.C. hasn’t sought the aid yet. At a press conference last Monday, Mayor Bowser expressed doubt about the program’s legal footing. (Certain experts have questioned Trump’s authority to offer enhanced jobless benefits under a federal law known as the Stafford Act.)
“We don’t fully appreciate the legality of the president’s actions at this point, and we think that the House and Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi [have] presented a plan that works, not just for D.C. but the entire country,” Bowser said, referring to congressional Democrats’ proposals for a new COVID-19 stimulus bill.
The mayor suggested that the FEMA program could soon be moot because “we’ll have a better plan that is approved” in the ongoing negotiation between Congress and the White House. “We continue to call on the House and the Senate to move a bill that will provide unemployment relief for people who can’t go back to work — their jobs don’t exist — and they need that support,” Bowser said. (On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Bowser said her office has no updates on the District’s stance toward the program.)
While those talks proceed among party leaders, Congress is currently on recess, though the House is set to return early for a vote on a bill related to the U.S. Postal Service as tensions escalate over a reported widespread mail slowdown ahead of the November election. In the election, many voters are expected to cast ballots via mail due to the coronavirus pandemic.
