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Today is a terrible day that should not have come. Up to 14 million jobless workers will be cut off of federal CARES Act benefits that President Trump has chosen to let expire if he does not sign the #ReliefCantWait stimulus bill today. 
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/25/us/politics/unemployment-pandemic-aid-trump.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/25/us/politics/unemployment-pandemic-aid-trump.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
It is even worse than when @ENpancotti and I predicted 12 million would lose their last economic lifeline, as unemployment spiked unexpectedly after thanksgiving https://tcf.org/content/report/12-million-workers-facing-jobless-benefit-cliff-december-26/
That paper even got Sen. John Cornyn to tweet that this cut off should be stopped https://twitter.com/JohnCornyn/status/1329428100715868164?s=20
A tough deal was struck first by the bipartisan gang of 8, and then by all of Congress to continue these benefits through March and April for some. https://tcf.org/content/commentary/shaky-bridge-congress-averts-unemployment-cliff-fails-secure-enough-jobless-aid/
The bill would have delivered an overdue reactivation of the $300 per supplement on top of all #unemployment checks AND boosted PEUC from 13 to 24 weeks and PUA from 39 to 50 weeks.
But President Trump refused to sign the Consolidated Appropriations Act (which contained the Continuing Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act within it) before the deadline, so the cut off is happening.
What happens next? That’s the question jobless workers are asking experts, each other and congressional representatives. Its blowing up among members of @unemployedact and @ExtendPUA who have fought so hard to #ExtendUI
As of tomorrow, those seeking to file for CARES Act benefits - PUA (9.2 million) or PEUC (4.8 million) won’t be able to register for more aid after their last payment for the Xmas weeks hits their bank account or UI card.
For those on PUA--gig workers, the self-employed, low-wage and part-time this will be the complete end of the line--since these workers are not eligible for any other form of UI.
Those on PEUC, could move to a different program if they live in a high unemployment state - EB (Extended Benefits), for which financially teetering states will have to borrow hundreds of millions to pay.
These states: Alaska, California, Connecticut, DC, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington, and just under 4 million may be able to get EB.
So, the net result is nearly 10.5 million workers with no other aid. To repeat those on PUA get nothing from EB. It is appalling and shocking to those families too.
But as @laurenlbauer has pointed out even many of these states will trigger off of that program soon, so this safety net is threadbare. https://twitter.com/laurenlbauer/status/1341759135537393666?s=20
For those who can’t get on another form of benefits the consequences will be swift and dangerous
Columbia University estimates that nearly 5 million Americans including 1.3 million will fall in to poverty https://www.povertycenter.columbia.edu/news-internal/2020/forecasting-poverty/expiring-cares-act-jan-poverty-rise
And as many as 5 million Americans who’ve lost employment reporting that they fear being evicted in the first two months of the year, just as the eviction moratorium has expired.
Women like Rockie who has been sleeping in her Ford Fusion, after she was unable to make her rent. https://www.texastribune.org/2020/12/23/texas-stimulus-package-congress-unemployment/
And like Annabelle in Georgia who has been forced to take her daughter out of pre-school already, among thousands tossed off help as voters choose their next Senators https://www.ajc.com/ajcjobs/unemployed-georgians-approaching-dec-26th-financial-cliff/VEGY4NN6OJDG3D6PN3WZFZQU44/
These are real families caught up in the maelstrom of the pandemic scouring for shelters to live in, postponing the purchase of lifesaving medicines, and going further and further into debt
Caught in limbo, states have already started the process of cutting people off which they now have to follow through with next week
Even if President Trump signs the bill, turning the engine of aid back on again won’t be instantaneous and workers won’t see assistance until the end of January or February. https://twitter.com/jstein_wapo/status/1342642411822960640?s=21
The gravest view is that the President has no intention of signing a bill before he leaves office and leaving this to President Biden, meaning jobless workers will be without aid during one of the worst months of the pandemic.
The whole economy is suffering. It’s no coincidence that retail sales dropped in November as any saved stimulus payments have dried up. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/16/us-retail-sales-november-2020.html
Federal unemployment aid has never been cut off when the labor market was this weak, and the wounds of a recession so fresh. To do so now, and put more people’s lives at risk is the worst form of dereliction imaginable #ExtendUI
