The $600 weekly boost in unemployment benefits provided in the CARES Act ended Friday.
This program ends as another 87,000 people file initial unemployment claims last week in Florida, according to the Department of Labor.
A group of unemployed people and union members caravanned Friday to the Trump National Doral resort in hopes of getting the attention of lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
“Without that money we can not continue with our life,” said Roy James, whose job as a server at Miami International Airport ended in March.
He says state unemployment benefits along with the $600 weekly federal boost has helped keep his family afloat. He fears he will not be able to pay his bills without the additional help.
“Even with $1,000 I can not pay my bills, because even my rent is $1500,” James said.
State Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez and other state lawmakers are asking those in Congress to come to a decision Monday that would extend the $600 a week boost. This comes after last ditch efforts to extend the benefit failed this week.
“It is very easy to administers $600 a week, it goes straight to our families that need it, and straight to our local economies that need it,” Rodriguez said.
The current coronavirus relief proposal introduced Monday in the Senate would cut the $600 a week boot down to $200 a week until September and then transition to a system to provide up to 70% wage replacement.
