Rep. Ted Budd Proposes Back to Work Bonus Act
Washington,
May 25, 2021
Washington, D.C. -- Today, Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced the Back to Work Bonus Act. The bill replaces Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefits with back to work bonuses to incentivize American workers to return to work and aid in the economic recovery. The cost of the bonuses would be taken from already appropriated FPUC funding, creating a net-cost savings. The legislation also strengthens work search requirements for remaining federal pandemic unemployment programs to make sure that people who can re-enter the workforce search for work. The full text of the bill HERE. Rep. Budd said in a statement: “Our number one priority should be to get as many Americans back into the workforce as quickly as possible. I’m extremely concerned with the backwards incentive that has been created through enhanced federal unemployment benefits. We have a record number of job openings while the workforce remains small. This tells me that federal policy is incentivizing folks to stay out of the workforce. We should reverse that incentive through a Back to Work bonus. All of the good intentions and government spending in the world cannot replace the productivity and dignity of a job. I will continue to work to recreate the historic economic boom we saw before COVID.” Bill background: The Back to Work Bonus Act would reverse incentives by rewarding Americans who go back to work. Any American who was qualifying for FPUC benefits on the date of the bill’s enactment would be eligible for a Back to Work Bonuses.
The Back to Work Bonus Act would require individuals who want to receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) or the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) to actively search for work unless the person:
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