NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — State Rep. Mike Stewart is yet another legislator who says the state’s emergency fund should be spent on making sure all unemployment claims get the state max of $275.
Tennessee unemployment officials say there’s no way to tell how long the Lost Wages Assistance money from FEMA will last. The $236 million is meant to supplement claims for the past three weeks, dating back to August 1.
Commissioner Jeff McCord with the Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development explained on Tuesday how he anticipates implementing and processing these payments in the next few days.
“So this week or early next, we’ll start processing those benefits to be paid,” McCord said.
Once that money runs out, McCord says we have to wait and see if we can get more federal funding. So far there’s been no indication of what we can expect if we exhaust the LWA funding.
“We don’t need a bunch of families facing severe economic problems when we can prevent that,” Stewart said.
His solution is something we’ve heard from legislators in the past several weeks. Instead of sit on what he says is more than a billion dollars in “rainy day” money, why not use it to ensure all claims have access to the state max weekly unemployment payment?
“I have no idea why we’re not doing that. This is an incredibly difficult economic time for many families,” Stewart said.
Families like the one Cynthia Money of Millington is trying to support on her own.
Since losing her job, she’s lost her home, her car and now lives out of a motel looking for a job.
“Right now my daughter is telling me she’s hungry and I would edit that out, but I’m not going to edit that out because that’s fact. We’re hungry every day,” Money said.
Cynthia exhausted what little she made in unemployment from the state, so she’s only entitled to the federal $300 a week.
Others may not even see that much as you have to draw at least $100 in unemployment money each week to be eligible according to the LWA regulations.
In Tennessee, at least 9 percent of claims would therefore not qualify.
It’s a rule that comes from Washington, but Stewart says we can at least make up the difference back home.
“Governor Lee just has to step up and decide he’s going to help all these people who are unemployed through no fault of their own. He could decide to do it if he wants to. The money is there,” Stewart said.
TDLWD says any comment about the rainy day fund has to go through the governor’s office. The governor’s office did not respond for comment.
