$400 in extra unemployment benefits appears to be turning into $300, timeline unclear

It is looking likely that the $400 a week of extra unemployment aid scheduled after President Trump’s executive order, is going to turn into $300.

According to USA Today, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow stated on Tuesday that plans have changed after states were concerned that they could not afford the 25% or $100 per unemployed resident that was called for in Trump’s order.

States now won’t have to chip in the extra $100, according to Kudlow, as long as they already provide a minimum of $100 in state unemployment benefits.

The $300 will be in addition to what the state typically provides in unemployment.

Kudlow stated at the White House Tuesday that the checks should start going out in a couple of weeks retroactive from the beginning of August.

“The average state unemployment benefit is around $400 per week, so with the federal supplement, many Americans can expect to receive $700 in weekly unemployment benefits”, Kudlow said.

According to Yahoo Money, however, experts believe that it won’t be that simple because states have never done something like his before.

Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project stated that “it will take at least a month and that’s being very optimistic about a lot of things.”

In March, $600 in additional unemployment benefits was passed by Congress, however, those benefits expired at the end of July.

Some continue to argue that the four executive orders sign Saturday are illegal and unconstitutional as Congress controls federal funding for programs.