As momentum builds to end prolonged unemployment benefits and reopen Main Street businesses, Governor Brian Kemp joined twenty-two other governors and ended Georgia’s participation in federal pandemic unemployment programs, effective Saturday, June 26, 2021.

Key Takeaways:

• Georgia joins the twenty-one other states and counting that have opted to end federal unemployment benefits.
• Ways and Means member Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA) said “Georgia is open and the best state to do business for a reason, yet the biggest challenge our small businesses are still facing is rebuilding their workforce when their employees are receiving a bonus to stay at home. It’s time to put the pedal to the metal in our economy and restore the dignity of work. By continuing to invest in workforce development and maintaining a welcoming business climate, I’m confident Georgia’s best days are still ahead of us.”
• Democrats extended federal supplemental unemployment benefits of $300 per week until September 6th as part of their $1.9 trillion spending bill.
• The American Action Forum estimates nearly 40 percent of workers could make more on unemployment at this level than they would earn by returning to work.

Last week, Ways and Means Committee Republican Leader Kevin Brady (R-TX), Ways and Means Republican Leader of the Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN), House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) sent a letter to governors across the country asking them to help get Americans back to work and our economy back on track.