Newhouse Introduces Legislation To Get Americans Back to Work

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced the National Signing Bonus Act of 2021. This legislation will encourage Americans to get back to work by incentivizing employment opportunities through signing bonuses and stop the federal government from paying people more money to stay at home.

"Many of our local businesses simply cannot find the labor they need because the federal government is paying more for unemployment than for work. That is unacceptable for our small businesses, our families, and our economy," said Rep. Newhouse. "The National Signing Bonus Act will convert existing pandemic unemployment benefits into limited-time signing bonuses for new hires, incentivizing Americans to get back to work, and allowing our local economies to recover."

Read the full text of the bill here.

Background:

The National Signing Bonus Act of 2021 will:

• convert existing pandemic unemployment benefits into limited-time signing bonuses for new hires;
• For individuals who have been unemployed for the previous 6 months, convert the expanded UI benefits passed by in the American Rescue Plan into two lump-sum payments over 8 weeks for anyone who gets and keeps a job; and
• only apply to employees who return to work before July 4, 2021 (the expanded benefits end in September).

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