Congressman Steven Horsford joins Reps. Lee, Titus, and Crow to Urge Senate Not to Slash Unemployment Income that has Helped 590,000 Nevada Workers

North Las Vegas, Nev. -- Today, Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) joined Representatives Susie Lee (NV-03), Dina Titus (NV-01), and Jason Crow (CO-06) on a call with regional reporters to urge the U.S. Senate not to cut emergency unemployment income that 30 million American workers, including 590,000 Nevadans, have relied on since the onset of the COVID-19 health and economic crisis.

In May, the House of Representatives passed the Heroes Act to extend the $600 weekly emergency unemployment insurance and other critical lifelines for workers and families amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 31, 2020, the unemployment benefits expired for millions of laid-off American workers due to the inaction of Senate Republicans. Instead of extending the unemployment benefits, they released a plan to slash emergency unemployment income for families and workers by hundreds of dollars a week during the crisis.

"The COVID-19 pandemic took a devastating blow to Nevada's economy. With a record-high unemployment rate reaching 30 percent and a budget shortfall of $1.2 billion dollars, our state needs real and immediate support. That's why I voted to pass legislation that extends enhanced unemployment benefits that have kept households and the economy afloat during this pandemic," said Congressman Steven Horsford. " It is unconscionable that Senate Republicans would slash unemployment income while families are still struggling to pay bills and put food on the table. It's time they step up and extend enhanced unemployment insurance compensation to prevent further suffering of Americans across the country."

In addition to slashing unemployment income, the Senate Republican plan fails workers and families. Their proposal:

• Gives wealthy corporations a business meal tax deduction, while refusing to expand SNAP for families struggling to keep food on the table;
• Fails to extend the eviction moratorium, while refusing to provide rental or mortgage assistance to families on the brink of eviction;
• Provides no state and local funding to pay our heroes: our health workers, first responders, teachers, food, transit, and sanitation workers and other frontline heroes risking their lives to save lives and keep the economy running, who risk losing their jobs – and will be forced onto unemployment insurance.
• Hands liability immunity to employers who do not protect workers' health and safety, while offering no OSHA protections to ensure workers can trust in safe workplaces;
• Tries to bully schools into reopening without the resources to reopen safely, tying urgently-needed funding to reopening instead of safety and failing to provide adequate resources — while refusing to expand broadband to help kids who need it for school or Americans who telework or have telehealth appointments;
• Offers no help for victims of domestic violence, despite cases skyrocketing during the lockdown;
• Provides zero election funding or Post Office assistance, while spending $2 billion on President Trump's priority to renovate the FBI headquarters and prevent competition for Trump Hotel and handing a $30 billion slush fund to defense contractors;
• Refuses to have a strategic and well-funded, science-based testing plan and also abandons communities of color, with no assistance for the Black and other minority communities who are being disproportionately devastated by COVID-19.

Instead, the House plan, known as the Heroes Act will extend full emergency unemployment insurance, protect the paychecks of frontline workers, provide direct payments of up to $6,000 for families struggling, support small businesses and invest in the testing needed to reopen our economy safely.

A summary of the Heroes Act is available here.

Congressman Horsford recently introduced theBack on Your Feet Act, legislation that would extend the weekly $600 federal unemployment assistance and provide a one-time ‘Back on Your Feet' pay of $3,600. The bill provides benefits for individuals unable to work due to the pandemic and provides support to workers who are able to return to work safely.