Representative David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford) calls on the Governor and Democrat Supermajority to direct the Oregon Employment Department to apply for the additional federal $300 dollar a week Unemployment Grant Program that is available. After congressional negotiations broke down and failed to extend the additional federal UI benefit to the unemployed in July, President Trump, through executive order, made available an additional $300 dollar a week grant program of $44 billion dollars for unemployed families. Many states have applied and have been accepted, and have begun passing these additional dollars on to their unemployed. Oregon has yet to apply, leaving these benefits out of the pockets of struggling Oregon families.

“Oregon families continue to struggle to pay for basic needs, as Governor Brown’s Executive Orders in response to COVID have crippled Oregon’s economy and have left hundreds of thousands of Oregonians unemployed,” said Rep. Brock Smith. “Although the Legislature has taken steps to increase the UI benefits for Oregonians, the failure of the Governor and Supermajority to direct the Employment Department to apply for the available additional federal grants to assist these same struggling working families is deplorable,” he said. “The Oregonian recently reported, ‘Oregon could also apply for the $300 weekly grant, but opt not to pay the extra $100 boost,’ and I call on the Governor to forgo the additional $100 from the state and immediately act on the additional federal benefits to get them in the hands of Oregonians as soon as possible,” he said.

“Oregon unemployed families cannot wait for congress to resume their political narrative back in D.C. and Oregon leaders should not wait either,” said Rep. Brock Smith. “Oregonians deserve action on these additional federal UI benefits now. Our motto, ‘She flies with her own wings’ is a clear example of how we don’t and shouldn’t wait for the congressional disfunction to resume before taking action for our working families,” he said. “The time has passed for Oregon’s leadership to put people over politics, Oregon’s struggling families over their abhorrence of the President, and apply for the additional federal grant unemployment assistance as other states have and continue to do across the nation.”


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2020-08-23 13:22:01

Last Update: 2020-08-23 14:43:42