Politics

DC Mayor Says Some Unemployed Residents Could Get $1,200 Stimulus Checks

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Adam Barnes General Assignment Reporter
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Democratic Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a press conference Monday that some residents could receive one-time $1,200 stimulus checks.

Bowser said the district will use some of its CARES Act funds to “provide a round of local stimulus,” according to Fox News. The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which was meant to temporarily increase unemployment pay, expires at the end of December. Only residents who have participated in the program since Nov. 30 are eligible for the payment, Bowser said.

“We estimate we can reach about 20,000 Washingtonians with these payments,” Bowser said.

 

The payments are intended to help people who are not eligible for traditional unemployment insurance, such as those who are self-employed or contract workers, Bowser said according to Fox News .

Washington, D.C. had an unemployment rate of 8.2% in October, data from the Bureau of Labor statistics shows.

In a letter to President-elect Joe Biden, Bowser’s office said the district was underfunded because it is not a state, the Washington Post reported. More than 75,000 D.C. residents, according to Bowser, could lose their unemployment benefits when the CARES Act provision expires.

“Unemployment benefits have been critical to ensuring thousands of families within the District could make ends meet during the pandemic,” Bowser wrote. “These losses in benefits will prove disastrous not only for the recipients, but the essential businesses these families frequent.” (RELATED: DC Mayor Suspends High School Sports)

The district on Monday added 183 new COVID-19 cases and reported 4 new deaths, which brings the total to 701, the Post reported.