TOPEKA, Kan. – Senator Roger Marshall wants to end the $300 increase to unemployment benefits by May 31 in response to an increase in unemployment rates.
Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) says in light of the release of the Department of Labor report, which shows an uptick in the unemployment rate to 6.1% and that employers only added 266,000 jobs in April. He said he plans to introduce legislation on Monday that would repeal the $300 increase in unemployment benefits passed by President Joe Biden earlier in 2021. According to Marshall the increase in benefits makes it more profitable for residents to stay unemployed.
“Throughout my travels across Kansas, I hear constantly how employers are struggling to find people for open jobs because folks are staying at home due to the rich unemployment benefits and the stimulus checks that Democrats continue to enhance. While there are certainly people that needed access to increased unemployment benefits during the heart of this pandemic, we should not be in the business of creating lucrative government dependency that makes it more beneficial to stay unemployed rather than return to work,” said Senator Marshall. “At a time when our nation is on its way to reaching herd immunity and businesses are emerging from government-imposed lockdowns, President Biden has delivered them a government-imposed labor shortage. For these reasons, I intend to introduce legislation when the Senate returns from recess that repeals these enhanced unemployment benefits and encourages Americans to return to work.”
