Title: Extra $600 in unemployment benefits ends in days. It could prove "disastrous" - CBS News
Headings: Extra $600 in jobless benefits ends in days. It could prove "disastrous."
Extra $600 in jobless benefits ends in days. It could prove "disastrous."
"Who is going to spend money?"
Weeks without extra benefits?
"The labor market is a mess"

Content: But many Republicans have pushed for a reduction of the $600 benefit because of concerns that some workers are earning more on unemployment than at their jobs, which some lawmakers say discourages them from returning to work. One hint of what could be in the works comes from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a lobbying group for businesses. It's pushing for a maximum of $400 in extra weekly jobless benefits, which it says would replace about 80% to 90% of a typical worker's wages while keeping benefits low enough to entice people to return to their jobs. Weeks without extra benefits? Even if Congress passes a new stimulus package by the end of July, there's likely going to be at least a two-week gap until those extra benefits reach the nation's 25 million unemployed workers, Evermore said. That's because states will need to reprogram their computers to input the new dates for the extra pay, a significant obstacle given that many rely on outdated computer systems. The gap in benefits could last as long as four weeks if the extra payments expire this month and then are reinstated by Congress, according to Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. It's unclear whether Congress would include a provision to pay workers retroactively for the missed weeks of pay. COVID-19's impact on Latino communities 01:51
Among those urging lawmakers to extend the extra $600 in benefits are former Federal Reserve chiefs Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen. In a Congressional hearing on Friday, Yellen said it would be "a catastrophe" if the benefit wasn't extended, while Bernanke pointed out that the pay helps the overall economy.