Delaware Gov. John Carney said the state cannot afford to kick funds into President Trump’s order that adds $400 a week in unemployment benefits.
Trump’s executive order would give jobless workers $400 a week, with the state kicking in $100 a week.
At his weekly press conference, Carney said the state has been using federal CARES funding to meet current jobless payments and will have to borrow funds from the federal government to meet future demand.
Carney also called the funding mechanism complicated and unnecessary. The system would use the federal Emergency Management Agency.
Carney added that Congress and the Trump Administration should have worked out a package and praised Delaware’s Congressional Delegation for their work.
A sticking point in the coronavirus relief bill is a reluctance by the Trump administration to add funding for state governments in dealing with depressed tax and fee revenues, due to Covid-19.
Earlier, the Delaware Department of Labor announced awaiting guidance on President Donald Trump’s executive order that adds up to $400 a week to unemployment benefits.
The order allows up to an additional $400 per week for eligible claimants receiving benefits. This new benefit would replace the previous $600 a week, which expired on July 25, 2020.
The Delaware Division of Unemployment Insurance is expecting to receive guidance later this week from the United States Department of Labor and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Under the executive order, benefits would be retroactive to the week of August 1.
Claimants should continue to certify each jobless claim week. Doing so will ensure continuing the weekly benefit and any backdated payments.
