Economics
U.S. Economy Too Fragile for Congress to Remove Income Support
- $600-a-week jobless payments expiring in July may damp rebound
- Lawmakers debate plans including ‘back to work bonus’ instead
The U.S. Capitol building stands at dawn in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019.
Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Sign up here for our daily coronavirus newsletter on what you need to know, and subscribe to our Covid-19 podcast for the latest news and analysis.
After approving the most generous unemployment benefits in U.S. history to help counter the coronavirus, Congress is in a bind over what to do when they expire at the end of next month.
With America gradually heading back to work, there’s no majority among lawmakers to extend the $600-a-week extra payments in their current form. But with the economy more fragile than it’s been in generations, they don’t dare to just pull the plug.