Alex Brandon / AP
President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, in Washington.
Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020 | 2:47 p.m.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak speaks during a news conference at the Sawyer State Building in Las Vegas,Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Sisolak ordered a monthlong closure of casinos and other non-essential businesses in order to stem the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19).
President Donald Trump’s executive order providing an extra $400 a week in unemployment benefits could cost Nevada more than $33 million a week, an analyst said.
With Congress at loggerheads over extending the benefit, Trump signed an order over the weekend to provide the extra payment amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The federal government would pay $300, and states would have to cover the other $100. It’s was not clear if the federal government’s contribution would be contingent on the states agreeing to pitch in.
Jeremy Aguero, an analyst with Applied Analysis, said preliminary numbers show the program would put Nevada on the hook for about $33.6 million more a week.
Nevada’s unemployment rate is 24.9%.
Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who chairs the Democratic Governors Association, said the order was not workable for states.
“Let’s be clear about something: states are going broke and millions of Americans are unemployed, yet the solution called for states to create a new program we cannot afford and don’t know how to administer because of this uncertainty,” Murphy said.
There are also questions about whether Trump’s order is constitutional.
Sisolak would prefer a legislative fix, a spokeswoman for the Nevada governor said.
“The governor is disappointed that the federal government could not come together to pass an extension of the fully federally funded unemployment benefits, at a time when state and local governments are facing severe budget shortfalls and many workers are jobless through no fault of their own,” Sisolak spokeswoman Meghin Delaney said.
Nevada’s coffers have been hit hard by the pandemic due to the state’s reliance on tourism as its main economic driver.
Sisolak ordered casinos closed in mid-March to help curb the spread of the virus, and they were not allowed to start reopening to June 4. Since then, visitor volume has been down dramatically — off 70% in Las Vegas for the month of June.
During a special legislative session in June, Nevada lawmakers cut about a quarter of the state’s budget — over $1.2 billion — to make up the tax revenue shortfall.
Trump’s plan earmarks $44 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to go toward unemployment benefits and calls on states to contribute about $15 billion.
Sisolak said the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation was continuing to analyze how much the program would ultimately cost Nevada.
Earlier in the pandemic, Congress passed an act that provided an additional $600 a week federal unemployment benefits. That measure expired on Aug. 1.
House Democrats wanted to extend the $600 payment, while Republicans wanted to lower it to $200 a week.
