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Florida Democratic Party Executive Director Marcus L. Dixon Calls on Governor DeSantis and the Republican Legislature to Fix the Broken Unemployment System
The unemployment system in Florida is broken and our communities are suffering, but the Republican leadership of this state refuses to do anything about it. Last week the Palm Beach Post published a scathing report that highlighted just how bad Gov. Desantis’ mismanagement and the Republican led legislatures’ inaction on the unemployment crisis has been for Floridians.
The challenges we face are many: the embarrassment of Florida’s unemployment website simply not working has been well documented, the maximum benefit amount of $275 a week has not been increased since 1998, and the number of weeks that struggling Floridians can claim benefits is among the lowest in the nation. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis and record unemployment, this is disgraceful. Democrats are taking action and have already put forward 6 different bills to address the ongoing unemployment crisis in Florida, while Republicans have put forward none and have yet to even address the issue in committee, further highlighting the purposeful nature of Republican inaction.
In response, Florida Democratic Party Executive Director Marcus L. Dixon released the following statement:
Governor DeSantis and the Republican-held legislature need to prioritize struggling families and actually work to fix Florida’s deeply broken unemployment system and help deliver COVID relief. Floridians are suffering from the impact of a global pandemic and record unemployment and somehow Republican leaders refuse to do anything about it. They have not lifted a finger to increase the maximum benefit in over 20 years and haven’t made any changes to address the dire situation in which many families find themselves. Our communities need relief, not political performance on other unnecessary legislation. It’s about time that Gov. DeSantis and Republicans in this state recognize that and finally rise to the occasion.
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