Two Weeks of Senate Inaction Means A Bigger Pandemic Pay Cut for Struggling North Carolinians

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 6, 2020

Two Weeks of Senate Inaction Means A Bigger Pandemic Pay Cut for Struggling North Carolinians

Tills, Burr Ignore Crisis as Thousands of North Carolinians Continue to Lose Jobs

Raleigh, N.C. - Weekly data from the U.S. Department of Labor reported today shows that 17,402 North Carolinians filed initial unemployment claims for the week ending August 1. Since the pandemic began, more than 1.2 million North Carolinians have filed for unemployment insurance, and state data shows the number of claims have begun to rise again over the first few days of August.

Two weeks ago, Senate Republicans’ stimulus proposal rapidly collapsed in the face of broad internal and external opposition, ending $600 weekly federal unemployment payments. As part of their proposal, the Senate GOP refused to extend emergency food assistance and tried to slash federal unemployment payments by $400 per week. In the same bill, the Senate GOP attempted to expand tax breaks for “three martini lunches” by doubling the business meal deduction from 50% to 100%.

Piedmont Rising Executive Director Casey Wilkinson made the following statement:

“Nearly two weeks ago, Senator Tillis and Senator Burr gave hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians a $600 per week pandemic pay cut, and they have done nothing since to fix it. Instead of proposing tax breaks for three-martini lunches and favors for corporate special interests, Tillis and Burr should fully extend $600 federal unemployment payments for North Carolina families who are wondering how they’ll pay for housing, health care and food.”

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