U.S. Representative Peter Meijer (R-MI) today led his Republican colleagues in the Michigan delegation in sending a letter to Governor Gretchen Whitmer urging her to end the state’s use of the enhanced federal supplemental unemployment benefits made available in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In some of the 16 states that have chosen to opt out of these enhanced benefits, unemployment rates have dropped the near pre-pandemic levels.
On May 10, 2021, it was announced that 55 percent of Michiganders 16 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. According to Governor Whitmer’s guidelines, this development allows in-person work to resume for all sectors by May 24, 2021.
Excerpt from the letter:
“Michigan has taken strong steps to combat the pandemic, but continued participation in the emergency federal increase in unemployment compensation benefits is exacerbating the labor supply shortage and hindering our economic recovery. Today, we call on you to end participation in this program to get our state’s economy back on track and ensure our employers have access to the talent they need to return to normal.
“We all agree that the federal supplemental benefits served a purpose when businesses were forced to close in response to the public health crisis, but now, as the seven-day average of positive cases continues a three-week decline and hospitalization rates remain low, businesses both can and want to reopen, and employees can and should return to work. Unfortunately, these benefits remain so robust that employees are more incentivized to stay home and collect unemployment than to go back to work. A decision to end Michigan’s participation in the federal supplemental unemployment insurance benefits program, an action that several other states have taken, will ensure a faster economic recovery for Michigan, its employers, and individuals across the state. We ask that you take strong action on this issue as we continue to support Michigan’s employers so our communities may prosper once again.”
Original source can be found here.
