After hearing from constituents, state Rep. Paul Mark and other members of the local five-member legislative delegation have joined colleagues across the state in demanding that the governor and his administration increase access to the Lost Wages Assistance Program so that low-wage earners can get the help they need.
When the supplemental federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation ended, which had added an extra $600 per week to traditional unemployment benefits, many found themselves in a difficult situation, said Mark, D-Peru.
“We’re trying to put pressure for the state to help these people,” he said.
The recent announcement that the state will participate in the Lost Wages Assistance Program, providing unemployment recipients with $300 in extra benefits per week, was welcome news, but there’s one catch the state representative said: claimants need to receive at least $100 in weekly benefits to qualify. Those benefits are paid for by a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for up to six weeks.
“Constituents began calling because they didn’t understand why they would be excluded when they were the ones who needed the most help,” Mark said. “We reached out to colleagues to start looking for answers and found that while this layer of cruelty was baked into the executive order that set up this program, other states had found ways around it. North Carolina took legislative action quickly. New Hampshire and Rhode Island both did this by executive order. The need to act quickly is paramount.”
According to the legislators who signed the letter to Gov. Charlie Baker, including representatives Natalie Blais, D-Sunderland, and Susannah Whipps, I-Athol, and senators Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, and Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, it meant that the people who make the least amount of money were excluded from the program.
A person who is receiving $76 per week, for instance, would not receive any extra assistance, while someone receiving $800 per week would receive the extra funds, so the poor would be penalized.
The rule legislators are fighting applies only to a very small subset of people, Mark said. Those with dependents receive the extra $300 because the dependent benefits qualify them for the program. Those receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) receive the money because the base benefit for PUA is $267. The only people who largely don’t qualify are single, low-wage earners.
“We sent our demand to the secretary of labor and have gotten good feedback,” Mark said. “If the governor signs an executive order, it would be retroactive.”
According to Mark, once the pot of money FEMA is using to fund the program dries up, there are no more funds barring action by Congress. With the U.S. Senate majority leader tight-lipped on the future of any additional unemployment benefits or program extensions, the only hope for claimants in need is their state, and that’s what sparked legislators to send the letter.
Mark said he and his colleagues reached out to others almost two weeks ago to get the letter to Baker. There was so much interest, he said, they had to extend the sign-on deadline. In the end, they collected over 100 signatures.
If the governor signs an executive order based on the letter, it would increase the benefits that claimants who are under the $100 threshold receive for six weeks, and despite the current economic uncertainty in the state, legislators, including the local delegation, argue that it makes good sense.
Because only a small number of people are being affected by this, Mark said, it would probably be an investment of only $100,000 or so.
“Doing this wouldn’t break the bank,” he said.
Mark said legislators are also monitoring other states that are taking action, and hoping that Massachusetts follows suit.
“The minimum benefit in New York is already above $100,” Mark said. “New Hampshire and Rhode Island have stepped up. Other states will follow. We want to make sure Massachusetts takes action before time runs out. We don’t want people with the lowest income to miss out.”
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.