GOP Rep. Brady: Unemployment Benefits ‘a Barrier’ to Rebuilding Workforces

Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX) on Friday voiced his concern with rebuilding the workforce in the United States following the coronavirus pandemic.

Brady warned on Fox Business Network’s “Cavuto” unemployment benefits are acting as a “barrier” to getting people back into the workforce after many were laid off, adding the benefits are causing the recovery to be “much slower.”

“First, we’ve got to help local businesses rebuild their workforces,” Brady told host Neil Cavuto. “Right now, the federal unemployment benefits are a barrier. They are so generous it’s preventing people really from returning to those jobs, and so, my return to work bonus is about creating new incentives for people to come back, reconnect with their employer.”

“[W]hat our thinking is to allow people to keep two weeks of their unemployment benefits $1,200 when they return to work,” he continued. “The laws in most states require people to accept suitable employment, so this is an incentive for them to reconnect. We may want to adjust, you know, that approach but we need to be able to help people reconnect, or we are going to lose more businesses, this recovery will be much slower. And then the second thought was a lot of businesses are spending a lot of money, making sure their workplace is safe for both workers and customers. We think we can help them there, and that’s why I think the liability reform is making sure we’re incentivizing, rewarding businesses for creating that safe workplace. I think that’s incredibly important to the recovery.”

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