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Opinion
Michael R. Strain

How Congress Can Scale Back Unemployment Benefits

Workers will need help for a while, but $50,000 a year is too much.

Lining up for unemployment benefits in Kentucky.

Lining up for unemployment benefits in Kentucky.

Photographer: John Sommers II/Getty Images North America

To help fight the Pandemic Recession, Congress temporarily made unemployment benefits more generous. Too generous, in fact. Eligible workers can receive $600 per week from the federal government on top of their regular state-provided benefit.

This program expires at the end of July. What should Congress do?