Aug 25 | Trump's LWA: State Updates

LOST WAGE ASSISTANCE:

Trump’s Executive Memorandum from August 8th, which includes the Lost Wage Assistance

program (LWA), has provided little economic relief so far for Americans hurt by the Coronavirus

Pandemic.

According to FEMA, “this assistance is intended to help people support themselves and their families

as they look for work. An extra $300 per week will help those struggling with unemployment to buy

school supplies for their children, put food on the table and possibly prevent eviction”. In order to

qualify for the $300, a person needs to already be receiving at least $100 in weekly unemployment

benefits.

As of Friday, 13 states have been approved for these benefits. Many other states have either said

they're applying or have not said whether they will move forward and offer the payments. South

Dakota has turned down the jobless benefits. So far, only Arizona has started sending the extra

$300 to its unemployed residents.

For up-to-date information about your state’s status with the LWA, look to this tracker! It summarizes

the current status of every state's application to the program.

(This is a privately run tracker that is not affiliated with the government or with ExtendPUA.org)

FEMA has a total of $44 billion to spend on this program, meaning that benefits will only last until

that money runs out. If your state is provided with this additional money, the payments will be

retroactive back to August 1st, 2020.

Many states are having trouble getting this money out in a timely manner due to technical challenges

and computer updates, with some saying that they won't be able to roll out payments until the end of

September.

Last week marked the 21st week since the pandemic began that unemployment claims topped 1

million.

Sources:

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