A plan proposed Monday by Senate Republicans, the HEALS Act, would lower the unemployment insurance (UI) weekly benefit supplement from $600 per week to $200 per week for the next two months, before capping payments at 70 percent of a worker’s prior income. A new analysis by Century Foundation researchers finds that, if enacted, the proposal would have devastating consequences for American families, businesses, and the economy.
TCF estimates that the provisions alone to cut the Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) by $400 per week, or by two-thirds, would have dire impacts for more than 25 million people currently out of work and receiving the emergency income boost. Under the plan, weekly benefits would drop from a national average of $920.68 per week to $520.68 per week.
Individuals in states with lower average state UI payments could see their weekly benefits drop by as high as 57 percent (Oklahoma). Many of the states currently experiencing the worst surges in COVID-19 are also those that would see the largest percentage reduction in benefits, including Florida (47.1 percent), California (44.2 percent) and Mississippi (50.5 percent).
Map 1. CUTS TO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS IF PUC IS REDUCED TO $200 PER WEEK
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this analysis had incorrect figures for the “percent cut in benefits” in each state. As of noon ET on July 28, these figures have been updated.
Nationwide, the changes to UI included in the HEALS Act would cost families more than $10 billion per week, reducing total weekly benefits from $15 billion down to $5 billion. By the end of September, the proposal would cost working families more than $90 billion. Arizona, California, Florida Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas all would lose more than $3 billion each over the next two months.
See below for a 50-state breakdown of the potential impacts of the unemployment provisions in the HEALS Act. For more information or to speak with a TCF expert, contact [email protected].
Table 1
| Economic Losses from Cutting UI Benefits to $200/Week through September 30 |
|
Lost Benefits (Weekly) |
Lost Benefits (Through 9/30) |
| Alabama |
$49.5 Million |
$445.9 Million |
| Alaska |
$20.1 Million |
$181.2 Million |
| Arizona |
$399.9 Million |
$3.6 Billion |
| Arkansas |
$67.2 Million |
$605.5 Million |
| California |
$1.4 Billion |
$12.9 Billion |
| Colorado |
$115.9 Million |
$1.0 Billion |
| Connecticut |
$116.5 Million |
$1.0 Billion |
| Delaware |
$20.4 Million |
$183.7 Million |
| DC |
$30.1 Million |
$271.2 Million |
| Florida |
$342.8 Million |
$3.1 Billion |
| Georgia |
$352.8 Million |
$3.2 Billion |
| Hawaii |
$76.0 Million |
$683.6 Million |
| Idaho |
$11.7 Million |
$105.2 Million |
| Illinois |
$290.8 Million |
$2.6 Billion |
| Indiana |
$164.1 Million |
$1.5 Billion |
| Iowa |
$49.2 Million |
$442.4 Million |
| Kansas |
$81.6 Million |
$734.5 Million |
| Kentucky |
$70.6 Million |
$635.0 Million |
| Louisiana |
$158.6 Million |
$1.4 Billion |
| Maine |
$28.8 Million |
$259.6 Million |
| Maryland |
$257.4 Million |
$2.3 Billion |
| Massachusetts |
$343.2 Million |
$3.1 Billion |
| Michigan |
$538.0 Million |
$4.8 Billion |
| Minnesota |
$146.2 Million |
$1.3 Billion |
| Mississippi |
$73.1 Million |
$658.1 Million |
| Missouri |
$100.1 Million |
$900.6 Million |
| Montana |
$29.3 Million |
$263.6 Million |
| Nebraska |
$28.1 Million |
$252.7 Million |
| Nevada |
$156.0 Million |
$1.4 Billion |
| New Hampshire |
$24.7 Million |
$222.4 Million |
| New Jersey |
$332.1 Million |
$3.0 Billion |
| New Mexico |
$57.3 Million |
$516.1 Million |
| New York |
$934.1 Million |
$8.4 Billion |
| North Carolina |
$193.8 Million |
$1.7 Billion |
| North Dakota |
$14.1 Million |
$126.6 Million |
| Ohio |
$274.6 Million |
$2.5 Billion |
| Oklahoma |
$41.3 Million |
$371.4 Million |
| Oregon |
$85.7 Million |
$771.1 Million |
| Pennsylvania |
$936.2 Million |
$8.4 Billion |
| Rhode Island |
$40.6 Million |
$365.0 Million |
| South Carolina |
$96.0 Million |
$863.8 Million |
| South Dakota |
$7.5 Million |
$67.3 Million |
| Tennessee |
$139.9 Million |
$1.3 Billion |
| Texas |
$508.5 Million |
$4.6 Billion |
| Utah |
$28.6 Million |
$257.3 Million |
| Vermont |
$17.6 Million |
$158.1 Million |
| Virginia |
$257.3 Million |
$2.3 Billion |
| Washington |
$209.7 Million |
$1.9 Billion |
| West Virginia |
$26.5 Million |
$238.8 Million |
| Wisconsin |
$95.3 Million |
$857.4 Million |
| Wyoming |
$6.2 Million |
$55.7 Million |
| Total |
$10.1 Billion |
$91.3 Billion |
Source: Century Foundation Analysis of Department of Labor. Data. Updated: July 27, 2020. Data as of July 18, 2020.
|
HEALS Act Would Strip $90 Billion in Unemployment Payments, Crush 25+ Million Jobless Families
A plan proposed Monday by Senate Republicans, the HEALS Act, would lower the unemployment insurance (UI) weekly benefit supplement from $600 per week to $200 per week for the next two months, before capping payments at 70 percent of a worker’s prior income. A new analysis by Century Foundation researchers finds that, if enacted, the proposal would have devastating consequences for American families, businesses, and the economy.
TCF estimates that the provisions alone to cut the Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) by $400 per week, or by two-thirds, would have dire impacts for more than 25 million people currently out of work and receiving the emergency income boost. Under the plan, weekly benefits would drop from a national average of $920.68 per week to $520.68 per week.
Individuals in states with lower average state UI payments could see their weekly benefits drop by as high as 57 percent (Oklahoma). Many of the states currently experiencing the worst surges in COVID-19 are also those that would see the largest percentage reduction in benefits, including Florida (47.1 percent), California (44.2 percent) and Mississippi (50.5 percent).
Map 1. CUTS TO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS IF PUC IS REDUCED TO $200 PER WEEK
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this analysis had incorrect figures for the “percent cut in benefits” in each state. As of noon ET on July 28, these figures have been updated.
Nationwide, the changes to UI included in the HEALS Act would cost families more than $10 billion per week, reducing total weekly benefits from $15 billion down to $5 billion. By the end of September, the proposal would cost working families more than $90 billion. Arizona, California, Florida Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas all would lose more than $3 billion each over the next two months.
See below for a 50-state breakdown of the potential impacts of the unemployment provisions in the HEALS Act. For more information or to speak with a TCF expert, contact [email protected].
Table 1