Rep. Kevin Brady, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, on Thursday said offering Americans a “return to work” bonus to partially wind down their reliance on unemployment benefits could be a boon to the recovery moving forward during the coronavirus crisis.
“We think that those unemployment benefits can be turned into a return to work bonus,” Mr. Brady, Texas Republican, said on Fox Business Network.
He suggested a plan where an unemployed worker who gets a job offer would be allowed to keep up to two weeks, or $1,200, of new bolstered unemployment benefits.
“We also know it is unhealthy for workers to stay unemployed for a long time, both for themselves, their family and for our economy as well,” Mr. Brady said.
He said it’s important that people aren’t getting paid more through unemployment benefits than they would be at work.
“I’d say that’s a recipe for an extended recession,” Mr. Brady said.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Congress recently passed rescue legislation that provides people an additional $600 per week in unemployment benefits.
That provision has raised concerns among some Republicans that it could be more lucrative for workers to take the unemployment rather than get back into the workforce.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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