Republicans Considering Extending $600 Unemployment Benefit As Part Of Broader Stimulus Package

As the additional $600 of enhanced unemployment benefits are set to run out at the end of July, Senate Republicans and White House officials are currently in discussions over proposing a short-term extension to these benefits as part of a broader relief package for Americans, the New York Times reported.

However, Republicans are reportedly concerned over the cost and contents of the relief package, which is expected to run around $1 trillion while negotiations with Democrats are expected to stall the assistance even further as they look to spend three times as much as they intend to agree on, the news outlet said.

In the first round of stimulus spending, a weekly $600 supplement was provided in addition to state unemployment benefits to those workers that lost their job due to the impact of the coronavirus. Now with this benefit ending, Congress is pressured to produce another round of relief quickly before workers are left without this monetary aid.

As of Wednesday, it was unclear what type of extension Republicans were seeking for the enhanced unemployment benefits or whether enough support could be gathered by the party or if Democrats would agree to the measures suggested.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said that he hopes to introduce a relief package in the coming days that would include $105 billion for schools to reopen along with another round of stimulus checks and more federal loans for small businesses.

Democrats have said they are open to negotiations with Republicans but are standing by the $3 trillion stimulus law which was pushed through the House in May.