Biden pressured from both sides over unemployment boost

President Joe Biden is being pinched by Democratic pressure to provide a safety net for jobless workers and Republican complaints about social welfare after a softer-than-expected April jobs report.

That pressure was personified this week when Biden, while touting how his $1.9 trillion coronavirus spending package extended expanded federal unemployment insurance of $300 a week until Sept. 6, pledged to collaborate with states to crack down on alleged abuses of the program.

Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse was quick to claim Biden was "all over the place on unemployment insurance" as he faces criticism that the benefits are disincentivizing people from seeking work.

"He wants to go after folks who are gaming the system, but he’s denying the reality that his policies are making the situation worse so he's trying to make struggling businesses the boogeymen," Sasse said in a statement.

The potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate added, "Instead of making unemployment pay more than work, we ought to convert the emergency unemployment payments into signing bonuses."

Republican leaders around the country have voiced similar concerns about the generosity of the unemployment benefits, particularly after some Democrats suggested businesses simply raise wages. The governors of Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, North Dakota, and Montana have all signaled their intention to roll back the benefits.