As President Biden’s COVID-19 recovery effort remains more popular than ever, nine Republican governors are taking steps that actually hurt their constituents and slow down President Biden’s push to get our economy back on track. Republican governors in Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina and Tennessee have recently announced their plans to end federal pandemic unemployment benefits for their constituents affected by the COVID-19 crisis. This is an irresponsible action that undercuts president Biden’s recovery effort and takes away critical support for those impacted by the pandemic’s economic fallout as many are still reeling from it. In response to these ,irresponsible actions by Republican governors, Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus Spokesperson Michael Feldman issued the following statement:
“Republican governors’ decision to cut off pandemic unemployment insurance makes it clear they would rather make a political statement than prioritize the economic well being of their constituents for many of which this crisis is far from over.
“Terminating federal pandemic unemployment benefits only serves to hurt the most vulnerable and those in need and does nothing to alleviate those who are still struggling as a result of the pandemic’s economic fallout. To add insult to injury, Republican governors cutting these benefits were the same ones who failed to listen to public health experts’ advice and bucked critical safety measures that could have mitigated the disastrous impact this pandemic has brought on our economy.
“While President Biden and Democrats put money in people’s pockets and make a full-court press to get America out of this crisis by listening to public health experts, Republicans continue to put themselves on the wrong side of history by cutting off critical relief to their constituents.”