Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) has introduced legislation to convert pandemic unemployment benefits into a two-month signing bonus for those who get a job by July 4—an attempt to encourage workers back to work following the disappointing April jobs report.
Sasse introduced the National Signing Bonus Act yesterday in an effort to encourage those collecting unemployment insurance to secure a job. The bill would convert just over two months of unemployment into a signing bonus.
“We’ve been warning about this predictable crisis for a year now: Americans want to work, but the federal government is paying more for unemployment than for work,” he said in a statement. “Well-meaning but stupidly-designed policy is holding Main Street back. This bill isn’t a perfect solution, but let’s at least turn unemployment checks into signing bonuses.”
Sasse’s proposal would convert the expanded unemployment benefit into a two-month signing bonus equal to 101% of existing pandemic benefits to be paid out in multiple payments for individuals who can demonstrate new and continued employment by July 4.
The federal government’s expanded $300 unemployment payments are set to end on Sept. 6. Many people are also receiving additional state unemployment benefits. The combined federal and state benefits often pay people more than they would make working and disincentivize employment, Sasse and other critics say.
“We should be clear about the policy failure at work here: There are 7,400,000 jobs open in the U.S.—but fewer than 300,000 people found new work last month,” Sasse said in statement. “Why? This tragedy is what happens when Washington know-it-alls decide to pretend they’re generous by paying more for unemployment than for work. This obviously hurts our economy, but more precisely this hurts people on every Main Street in the nation.”
The bonuses will be paid from funds already allocated to supplemental unemployment insurance payments, which run through Labor Day, he said.
Nine states have announced that they will stop participating in the expanded federal benefits program in the coming weeks out of concern the payments are holding back the labor market and incentivizing unemployment.
Montana is among them and has already started to pay $1,200 bonuses to residents who return to work. Citing a workforce shortage, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said yesterday he'll be using funds from President Joe Biden's “American Rescue Plan” to incentivize people to become employed.
The state will also end participation in the expanded federal unemployment program by the end of June. Unemployed people in Montana could still be eligible for unemployment assistance, but at pre-pandemic levels, with eligibility stipulations that include a requirement that unemployment insurance recipients actively seek work.