TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A spokeswoman says Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration is reviewing President Donald Trump’s plan to extend supplemental unemployment benefits but is waiting for more details.
A program providing an additional $600 a week to workers left unemployed by the coronavirus pandemic expired July 31, and Congress hasn’t agreed on a bill including an extension. Trump announced a plan this weekend to provide an additional $400 a week in benefits but said states would have to cover 25% of the cost.
Kelly spokeswoman Lauren Fitzgerald called Trump’s plan only “a broad memo” and questioned whether he can provide the extra benefits through an executive order.
People were interested in these podcasts
Kansas struggled to handle a huge surge of unemployment claims from the pandemic-related shutdown of the state’s economy this spring. Kelly blamed much of the problem on a decades-old computer system, but Labor Secretary Delia Garcia was forced to resign in June.
Fitzgerald said the state has limited resources.
“If we divert those resources to try and implement a plan that may not be permanent and may not even be legal, it could ultimately prevent Kansans receiving those benefits in a timely manner when a more permanent solution is just around the corner if Congress acts,” Fitzgerald said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.