When could unemployed Texans start to receive extra $400?
AUSTIN, Texas -- For weeks, 1.6 million Texans were receiving an extra $600 weekly thanks to federal legislation designed to help keep Americans and businesses afloat.
Funding for those benefits expired at the end of July, and although President Donald Trump issued an executive order over the weekend that could give unemployed Americans more money - there's no word on when Texans could see it.
The president signed a memorandum that would give jobless Americans an extra $400 a week. Of that, $300 would come from the federal government, and Texas would have to cover an additional $100.
ABC affiliate KTRK contacted the Texas Workforce Commission to find out when people could start to see the money.
"We're currently reviewing the presidential memorandum and will provide additional information as soon as it becomes available," the agency said in a statement.
Gov. Greg Abbott's office was also asked if he would increase benefits an extra $100. As of Monday, his office hadn't responded.
Not everyone would be eligible for the extra money under Trump's order. According to the presidential memorandum, you would have to receive a minimum of $100 in unemployment a week.
In Texas, the lowest amount someone could receive is $69, which means not all Texans would receive the extra money. If the state elects to pay the extra $100, we've asked where the money will come from.
Since June 9, Texas has borrowed more than $2.6 billion for unemployment benefits.
In the past, the governor said Texans wouldn't get hit with a tax increase to pay for the borrowed funds. However, TWC officials said Monday that they couldn't rule anything out.
Meantime, neither of Texas’ two Republican U.S. senators directly answered questions posed to their offices Monday about Trump’s order.
Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn appear split on whether they support additional unemployment payments.
A spokesperson said Monday that Cornyn “supports extending an added federal benefit on top of the normal unemployment insurance.”
Cruz, meanwhile, reiterated that he believes the expanded unemployment compensation will only make it harder for Texas’ economy to recover.
“As Sen. Cruz has repeatedly said, Congress should be focused on helping Americans safely return to work and restoring hope and optimism across the country – not keeping the economy shutdown by paying people more to stay at home and not work,” a Cruz spokesperson said.
