How did the March 2021 coronavirus relief package affect my benefits? A $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package signed into law March 11 extended two pandemic unemployment programs authorized by the CARES Act into the first week of September. Lawmakers also extended a federal benefit that added an extra $300 a week to all unemployment claims. But jobless Texans only had access to these benefits through June 26, after Gov. Greg Abbott said in mid-May that Texas would opt out of the federal assistance. The legislative package also included a tax break for anybody who received $10,000 in unemployment benefits during the pandemic. You can no longer claim pandemic unemployment benefits