GOP bill targets blue state for billions in COVID-era unemployment debt dumped on businesses
FIRST ON FOX: A House Republican is moving to rein in California's ballooning unemployment insurance debt, arguing employers are being stuck with the bill as the state fails to repay...
By Fox News · Fox News
FIRST ON FOX: A House Republican is moving to rein in California's ballooning unemployment insurance debt, arguing employers are being stuck with the bill as the state fails to repay what it owes. Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif., will introduce legislation on Tuesday that would require California to pay its outstanding $21 billion loan to the federal government before spending federal money on other programs. Under Fong’s bill, California would have to direct eligible federal funds toward repayment within five business days of the money becoming available. If it violates that provision, the state would have to pay the full amount of misused funds to the federal government. California is the only state that has not paid back its loans for a COVID-19-era program that helped states finance a surge in claims for unemployment benefits with federal money. Instead, the state's federal unemployment debt continues to climb and is projected to top $23 billion by the end of the year, according to CalMatters. DEM STATES TO BLAME FOR MOST OF THE NEARLY $400 MILLION IN UNEMPLOYMENT FRAUD OVER LAST 4 YEARS, DOGE SAYS Fong argues the failure to pay off the massive debt has been detrimental to the state’s employers, who have been forced to help repay the loans through automatic tax hikes. Businesses were forced to pay an extra $42 per employee on their federal payroll taxes this year to help service the unpaid debt, KCRA reported. The California Republican has sharply criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., for not prioritizing repayment of the debt despite a near $100 billion budget surplus in 2022. Instead, California Democrats continued funding infrastructure projects, homelessness initiatives and other priorities, including subsidized health insurance for illegal immigrants. Newsom has since signed a budget scaling back taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants amid the state's growing fiscal challenges. Fong, a former state legislator, tied the massive unemployment debt to b…