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On Monday, December 21, Congress enacted a $900 billion stimulus package to support American workers and businesses impacted by COVID-19. The bill awaits President Trump’s signature, which as of this writing is uncertain. This summary provides an overview of the individual, family, and worker relief measures contained in the stimulus package.
Direct Stimulus Checks to Individuals and Families
Similar to the stimulus checks issued this spring, individuals and joint filers earning under $75,000 and $150,000 respectively will receive $600, respectively. This amount is the key point of contention for the President, who has called for a $2,000 payment instead. Taxpayers earning above those thresholds would receive a reduced or no stimulus check depending on taxable income.
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Congress passed additional COVID-19 relief legislation (H.R.
133) on Monday evening, December 21, 2020. Today, President Trump
is expected to sign the deal, which includes a $900 billion
economic stimulus package that will provide relief benefits to
businesses and individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following is a summary of some of the provisions that will
have a major impact:
Financial Support for Businesses
PPP Loan Recipients
The legislation includes more than $280 billion for additional
PPP loans. It includes: (1) $12 billion designated for
minority-owned and very small businesses; (2) $15 billion in
Expanded unemployment benefits
More than 12 million laid-off Americans could lose their unemployment benefits after this weekend if Trump doesn’t sign the bill. And even if he does, they would likely suffer a break in payments of several weeks.
As part of the historic broadening of jobless benefits under the CARES Act, lawmakers created three programs to help out-of-work Americans. While the $600 payment enhancement lasted only through July, the other two expire just after Christmas.
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program allows independent contractors, the self-employed and gig workers to qualify for payments. It also opens up the program to those who can’t work because of the pandemic, including if they or family members are ill or quarantining or if their children’s schools are closed.
Updated: 6:51 PM EST December 23, 2020
COLUMBIA, S.C. The South Carolina Department of Employment and Work Force (DEW) released the latest data on the jobs environment in the state and offered an explanation of CARES Act funding to benefit recipients.
For the week of Dec. 13-19, 2020, DEW reports that 3,538 initial unemployment (IU) claims were files in South Carolina. Horry, Richland and Greenville counties had the highest numbers of claims reported with 424 in Horry, 315 in Richland and 303 in Greenville. The number of IU claims has been dropping steadily as businesses reopen the week of October 11 was the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that IU claims fell below 4,000 per week. Since then, with the exception of the week of November 29 when the number rose to 5,309, the IU claims have been around 3,600 per week for the entire state.