West Virginia MetroNews – West Virginia leaders announced the state has been approved for a $68,269,946 FEMA grant to provide $300 a week in enhanced unemployment benefits. The state has pledged an additional $100 a week. Read full article.
But there were already questions about just how far that money would stretch.
The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, a think tank, questioned how far the available federal money would stretch.
“Not only is the Lost Wages Supplement providing smaller benefits to workers, the $68 million grant West Virginia has received is only enough to provide benefits for three to four weeks at best,” stated Sean O’Leary, senior policy analyst.
Moreover, he said, “the $400/week Lost Wages Supplement is an inadequate replacement for the $600 in emergency unemployment benefits that more than 60,000 West Virginians were receiving until the program expired last month.”
