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| Massachusetts must pay feds $2.1B after mistakenly using pandemic funds to cover unemployment benefits | |
| 2025-01-21 | |
| [FoxNews] 'It is incredibly frustrating that the prior administration allowed this to happen,' Gov. Maura Healey said Massachusetts must pay the federal government $2.1 billion over the next 10 years to resolve a debt after the state under former GOP Gov. Charlie Baker's administration mistakenly used federal pandemic funds to cover unemployment benefits.
In 2023, Healey announced that her administration uncovered that the prior administration improperly used about $2.5 billion in federal pandemic relief funds to cover unemployment benefits that should have been funded by the state. The total liability exceeded $3 billion, including fees and interest, according to Healey’s office. Negotiations with the U.S. Department of Labor dropped the total owed to $2.1 billion over the next decade. "We were dismayed to uncover early on in our term that the previous administration misspent billions of dollars in federal relief funds and that our state was facing what could have been a more than $3 billion tab to pay it back," Healey said in a statement on Monday. "For the past year and a half, we have engaged in extensive negotiations with the U.S. Department of Labor to minimize the impact on Massachusetts residents, businesses and our economy," she continued. "Today, we have reduced our potential liability by over $1 billion and negotiated a decade-long payment window to mitigate the impact." The governor added that it is "incredibly frustrating that the prior administration allowed this to happen" but that the current administration is "going to use this as a moment to come together with the business and labor community to make meaningful reforms to the Unemployment Insurance system." Payments will begin Dec. 1 and continue each year for the next decade. The agreement states that principal payments must come from the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund, which is funded by a tax on employers and is also used to cover benefits, according to the State House News Service. Interest payments will come from the state’s General Fund. Healey’s office said businesses will not face higher rates on their unemployment insurance payments through at least the end of next year, at which point rates will depend on system reforms. Related: Massachusetts: 2025-01-09 Illegal Immigrant Shelter Fraught With Crime in State Where Gov. Vows to Resist Trump Mass Deportations Massachusetts: 2025-01-07 Dem gov who vows to fight Trump border enforcement outraged by migrant using shelter for criminal activity Massachusetts: 2024-12-24 Texas AG Paxton sues NCAA, says group advertises 'women's sports' but games have transgender players | |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #4 NN2N1 that is my bet. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2025-01-21 23:56 |
| #3 "Mistakenly" or thought Biden/Harris would be around another 4 yrs to cover the usual Democrat $$$$ use scams. |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2025-01-21 11:50 |
| #2 They'll do what California did and not pay and pass the default to employers to pay by drastically increasing unemployment insurance rates. Of course forcing businesses to close and increasing the rates even further to those employers that can afford to pay. |
| Posted by: illeagle 2025-01-21 11:24 |
| #1 Oops,oopsies! |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2025-01-21 10:39 |