Bipartisan Stimulus Package Offers an Extra $300 in Federal Unemployment Benefits

The latest bipartisan stimulus package in the works would include a $300 per week unemployment enhancement, according to a report by USA Today. The outlet heard from sources close to lawmakers who are hoping to include stimulus programs within the U.S. Congress' annual spending bill, which must be passed by Dec. 11 or else we face a government shut-down. The deal may come just in time for some Americans.

Lawmakers are struggling to pass an economic relief bill before the legislative session ends next week, after months of political stalemate. A bipartisan group in both the House and the Senate have a plan that could be tacked onto the annual spending bill, extending some key programs for the coronavirus pandemic and altering them in the ways needed. If passed, the compromises could add $300 per week to unemployment checks.

Back in March, Congress passed the CARES Act, which added $600 per week to unemployment checks around the country in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The result was to sustain many workers who had been laid off or furloughed due to the crisis, but the program expired in July. By then, the second stimulus check bill already seemed late by many standards, and Americans were hopeful it would push Congress to pass a new bill.

Instead, the stalemate dragged on, with the Republican-controlled United States Senate raising fears that an unemployment enhancement created a disincentive to work. For the purposes of the coronavirus pandemic, that was the point, some public health experts said, but Republicans tried instead to promote different programs or smaller enhancements.

At first, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives indicated that it would not compromise on the amount in unemployment checks, but now it sounds like they have agreed to a compromise here. Democrats are reportedly okay with $300 per week as a temporary measure, with the hope of passing another large stimulus package in January when the new Congress takes office.

Still, the capacity of that new Congress remains in question since some critical run-off elections will determine which party controls the Senate. If Democrats can secure victories and seize the Senate, they will be able to pursue ambitious plans with the cooperation of both legislatures and the White House. If not, more compromises — and possibly stalemates — are on the way.

In addition to unemployment, the new plan would reportedly address coronavirus funding at the federal, state and local level, and relief programs for Social Security beneficiaries and other groups. A stimulus check itself would not be on the agenda.