Despite growing clamor from advocates and legislators, New York State is unlikely to allocate more money to the Excluded Workers Fund, expressed on Wednesday Governor Kathy Hochul at a press conference.
However, the president did not rule out working with state legislators to obtain more money during the next planning of the state budget, as well as to find ways to boost employment among people in need who do not qualify for federal incentives.
“The money we had, $ 2.1 billion, was an extraordinary amount of money,” Hochul said at the press conference, where the state’s response to COVID-19 was discussed. “But now we don’t have that level of money available to implement something like this.”
State lawmakers this year approved the fund as a means to help workers who did not receive federal aid. The money is scheduled to run out by the end of the month, and Hochul announced on Friday that no more applications have been accepted since last Friday.
Upon taking office, Hochul made the distribution of money from both the Excluded Workers Fund and the rent payment program a state priority.
Advocates and state legislators have been pushing the state to replenish the fund with the money available for now, plus they plan to add $ 3 billion next year. They argue that it is necessary since the floods caused by Hurricane Ida affected immigrant communities to a greater extent.
Meanwhile, many immigrant families who qualify for assistance may not have known about the program or were afraid to apply because of their immigration status.
Hochul indicated that he will choose to analyze the economic outlook on January 15, when the state moratorium on evictions expires again.
“The money ran out,” he sentenced. “We are certainly looking to see what happens when the moratorium on evictions expires on January 15.”
But Hochul also suggested that the state is willing to find ways to fix unemployment as an alternative to direct payments.
“The money would have to come with the Legislature and that doesn’t start until January anyway,” Hochul said. “So, we are trying to solve it through alternative means.”
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