Unemployment benefits lapse for jobless Americans as Trump holds out on signing

Millions of jobless gig-workers and independent contractors, as well as long-term unemployed Americans, are set to lose their unemployment benefits after this weekend since President Donald Trump hasn't signed the $900 billion relief package Congress passed last week.

What's more, all laid-off workers will likely lose a week of the $300 federal boost to payments because the President didn't put his signature on the bill by midnight Saturday.

The Covid-19 relief legislation, which had arrived at Mar-a-Lago by Friday to await Trump's signature, would extend the number of weeks people can stay on two key pandemic unemployment programs and increase weekly benefits by $300 for all through mid-March.

But after sitting on the sidelines during the negotiations, Trump emerged with an eleventh-hour complaint that a separate provision in the deal, which the President's own White House helped broker, would only provide up to $600 in direct payments. Trump now wants to send out $2,000 checks.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seized on Trump's call for $2,000 checks and brought to the floor a standalone bill that would have boosted the amount for relief checks on Thursday. House Republicans, however, objected to the bill over deficit concerns.

The standoff comes as millions of Americans face financial hardship -- including difficulty affording food and shelter -- triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

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