Gov. Lee: Federally-funded pandemic unemployment benefits in Tennessee will expire July 3

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday has announced all federally-funded pandemic unemployment benefit programs across the state will expire July 3.

Cutting the compensation is part of Lee's plan to get Tennesseans to "return to work." The governor says there's currently access to more than 250,000 open job positions in the Volunteer State.

“We will no longer participate in federal pandemic unemployment programs because Tennesseans have access to more than 250,000 jobs in our state,” Gov. Lee said in a press release. “Families, businesses and our economy thrive when we focus on meaningful employment and move on from short-term, federal fixes.”

The programs that will end include the following:

• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), which provides for an additional $300 weekly payment to recipients of unemployment compensation
  
• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which provides benefits for those who would not usually qualify, such as the self-employed, gig workers and part-time workers
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), which provides for an extension of benefits once regular benefits have been exhausted
• Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC), which provides an additional $100 benefit to certain people with mixed earnings

RELATED: Tennessee lawmakers pass bill slashing unemployment benefit period by more than half

Last week,Tennessee lawmakers pushed forward a bill to slash unemployment benefits by more than half. If signed by Gov. Lee,the measure would take Tennessee's unemployment benefits down from 26 weeks to 12 weeks.

The state is encouraging claimants to search for work by CLICKING HERE, where more than 250,000 jobs have been posted.

Meanwhile,Democratic Caucus leaders are slamming Gov. Lee’s decision.

“More than 200,000 Tennesseans have been laid off since Jan. 1 and the Lee administration just made the irresponsible decision to punish their families in a time of need," Sen. Raumesh Akbari, chairwoman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, said. "That’s not leadership, it’s legislative violence. This callous decision highlights just how out of touch this administration is with the lives of everyday Tennesseans.”

ALSO READ: Digging Out: Covid relief backfires on some Nashville businesses

As of May 1, Tennessee reported49,271 continuing unemployment claims.

“It’s difficult to describe this decision as anything other than ‘heartless.’ First, we cut the number of weeks that Tennesseans can collect unemployment and then we literally take money out of their pockets from a system they paid into,"Rep. Vincent Dixie, Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said. "It’s a targeted, heartless assault on people who are simply trying to feed their families at the worst possible time.”

The move has also seen support. Raul Lopez, executive director of Latinos for Tennessee, issued the following statement:

“Latinos in Tennessee, like many Tennesseans, faced job loss, reduced working hours and financial insecurity following government-mandated business closures tied to COVID-19. Fortunately, we are finally turning the corner on this horrific pandemic. But to make sure that our economy can continue to grow, it is imperative that policymakers eliminate barriers that will slow down economic recovery by disincentivizing folks from jumping back into the workforce. We commend Gov. Bill Lee for taking this principled stand and look forward to educating our state’s Latino community about the perils of government dependence and runaway spending.

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