Rob Portman: “I am here on the floor this afternoon to talk about the economy, how to get it on the right track and particularly how…”

“I am here on the floor this afternoon to talk about the economy, how to get it on the right track and particularly how to deal with the jobs crisis we face right now. It is a different kind of crisis than we normally talk about. There are a lot of jobs open, and the workers who are needed are not coming forward. Washington needs to change direction to get the economy on the right track. Current law provides that at least until Labor Day--that is in September of this year--there will be a Federal supplemental payment of $300 per week added to the State unemployment benefit. So if somebody is on unemployment insurance, they will get their normal State benefit, which in Ohio is about half of whatever your income was, but on top of that, now there is a $300 Federal supplement. It was put in place during COVID-19, but it continues until at least September. By doing so, adding that $300, it nearly doubles the unemployment insurance benefit, on average. It also results in about 42 percent of those people who are on unemployment insurance making more on UI than they were making at work. It has the effect of, in most States, more than doubling the amount of unemployment insurance, and it also doubles the minimum wage. So you can imagine why this is a disincentive for some people to go back to work, if they can make more not working.…”