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OAKLAND PARK, FLA. (WSVN) - The tens of thousands of Florida residents who are now out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic remain frustrated with the system in place to file for unemployment benefits.
Though their hands are tied when it comes to how states handle unemployment, members of the United States Congress are now getting involved. They are, however, trying to apply some pressure to governors.
Since the start of the pandemic, close to 1.9 million claims for unemployment benefits have been filed in Florida. Several people submitted multiple claims as the system has not been working.
Between March 15 and April 25, 824,000 claims have been verified, but only 25% of that amount have received payments — leaving hundreds of thousands of Floridians without financial assistance during this crisis.
“DeSantis has an opportunity to lead empathetically,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz in a video call with other members of Congress. “He can choose to believe this is only a mechanical problem solved by possibly improving a poorly designed, badly broken website, or he can recognize that this is a systemic problem that must be adjusted, at the very least, during this unprecedented crisis.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday held a news conference to address the concerns expressed by the public and members of congress.
Regarding the issue of the website constantly crashing, DeSantis said the state has purchased more servers. He further noted he has hired more people to answer phone calls.
Despite these efforts, the issues, however, persist.
The members of Congress are currently monitoring DeSantis’ news conference.
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