With a worker shortage going on, West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito said it's not the time to consider expanding federal unemployment benefits.
"We have a workforce shortage. So, when we extend unemployment benefits from 26 weeks into a lengthy period of time, we do that at certain times of high unemployment. For instance, the pandemic, or the fiscal crisis, we did the same thing when a lot of people were shutting their doors,” she said “That's when you want to extend. I don’t think you want to extend when there is a shortage of workers entering the workforce."
Thorough vetting of Afghan refugees
On the same conference call, Capito said the vetting of more than 90,000 refugees from Afghanistan has to be thorough and timely.
“So, we want to have these folks vetted,” she said. “They're on our bases, they're getting medical assistance. We want to help them; they are refugees from a horrible situation in their home country and we want to welcome them into our country.
“But we want to make sure that we're safe. So, I think we need to take a little bit more time here. And the bill that we're passing today will actually give some additional dollars to be able to make sure that were facing the Afghan refugee situation the way we should and the way that we want to.”
The Senate defeated a proposal that would have terminated benefits in March 2023 for Afghan refugees and cut from the bills language waiving some documentation requirements under the Real ID Act.