Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin recently said the White House wants to cap enhanced unemployment benefits in the next coronavirus package. One reason: so workers do not get benefits that exceed what they made while actually on the job.
That’s what happened in many cases under the initial benefit package. In addition to state unemployment benefits, some received up to $600 each week via the Cares Act. This created a huge incentive for many to remain unemployed, he noted.
“We want to incent people to go back to work,” Mnuchin said during a CNBC interview on Thursday. Mnuchin said he’s like to see the next coronavirus aid bill get approved between July 20 and the end of the month.
“As soon as the Senate gets back, we’re going to sit down on a bipartisan basis with the Republicans and the Democrats,” he added.
The Senate version is expected to be less generous than the measure approved by the House in May. That bill would extend $600 weekly unemployment payments until the end of the year. It also would provide $1 trillion to state and local governments.
