Why Aren’t We Extending the $600 Unemployment Benefit?

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.Today is July 10th. In 21 days the extra $600 per week in unemployment benefits ends.
COVID-19 cases are already skyrocketing, deaths are starting to rise, and states are beginning to close up again. Without the expanded UI, millions of Americans will soon be penniless and back in food lines.
That’s three weeks away. Why are we waiting on this? Why do we keep doing things at the last second, which allows states no time to respond? Extend the benefits now. It would be nice to toss in some aid to states and cities at the same time, but the bare minimum we need to do is extend the UI benefits.
What’s the holdup?

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