Unemployed Ohioans will soon see extra $300 payments, but the boost will be short-lived if Congress doesn’t pass a new stimulus bill

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOIO) - Unemployed Ohioans will see bigger checks from the state, and the extra money will likely start arriving within the next month, according to 19 News Investigator Hannah Catlett.

During Gov. Mike DeWine’s Thursday press conference, officials announced that claimants will get an additional $300 per week through federal grant money given to Ohio as part of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

The update comes nearly a month after the additional $600 payments provided in the CARES Act expired.

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Director Kim Hall said technical updates have to be done to the state’s system before the funds can go out.

“We need that additional time to test out the functionality ... That is a top priority, and so we are looking at mid- to late-September for the issue of those benefits, and I would be delighted if they would go out the door much more quickly than that,” Hall said.

Hall said the grant will likely be enough to send three weeks of additional payments to unemployed Ohioans who have been impacted by the pandemic.

After that, it’s up to the U.S. Congress to decide whether to allocate more funds to further extend extra benefits.

As it stands, Democrats want roughly $3 trillion in coronavirus stimulus funds, while Republicans want to deliver roughly $1 trillion to the public and businesses suffering from the widespread disruption brought on by the pandemic.

However, on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she told White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows the Democrats would be willing to meet halfway — at $2.2 trillion — a slight reduction from her last proposal before talks collapsed earlier this month.

The White House, which has stuck with its initial $1 trillion offer, had no immediate response.

Just over 1 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, down from 1.104 million in the previous week.

It was the 22nd time in 23 weeks that initial claims were above 1 million; however, economic reopenings across the country have reversed a portion of those job losses.

Return to 19 News for updates.

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