'Ill-informed and cruel': Growing number of GOP-led states move to end Covid unemployment benefits

A growing number of Republican-led states are moving to end the extra $300 a week in Covid-19 pandemic-related unemployment benefits, arguing that the relief is discouraging U.S.

Tate Reeves, a Republican, said in a statement Monday, adding that the benefit will end next month.

Reeves directed the state to enforce all eligibility requirements to receive unemployment benefits, a process that was waived during the pandemic.

Greg Gianforte, a Republican, announced last week that the state will end the enhanced pandemic unemployment benefits next month and instead will offer a $1,200 bonus for unemployed workers who return to work.

He said in a letter Friday that the federal unemployment measures "have accomplished their purposes." Employment in the state as of March was at 4.4 percent — down from a high of 10 percent in April 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Henry McMaster, a Republican, announced last week that the state would end federal pandemic unemployment benefits for its residents next month, calling them a "dangerous federal entitlement.".

Eric Holcomb, a Republican, said he has asked the state to complete a "demographic analysis of unemployed Hoosiers over the past 16 months" before he decides whether to continue to participate

The unemployment rate in Indiana is 3.9 percent, which Holcomb said is "near pre-pandemic levels." He plans to issue an executive order this week to reinstate a requirement that those who claim unemployment benefits must "actively seek employment and be available for work," which has been waived since the beginning of the pandemic

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation" that nothing in the data suggests that enhanced unemployment checks are the reason people are out of work