In a letter sent to the Office of Governor DeSantis, State Representative Geraldine Thompson is urging Governor Ron DeSantis to use his executive emergency powers to address the unemployment issues associated with COVID-19 and to give much needed relief to those who require a safety net at this time.
“I hear from my constituents every day, throughout the day that they are unable to log into the reemployment assistance portal or are kicked out of the system if they are lucky enough to get online,” said State Rep. Thompson. “We must assist Floridians to put food on their tables and to keep a roof over their heads.”
Representative Thompson mentioned numerous innovative strategies to help mitigate some of the issues that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These strategies include working with entities such as payday loan companies to get funds to the unemployed quickly with repayment guaranteed by the state of Florida once the system is functioning properly and allowing food stamps to be used for take-out and delivery to lessen long food lines and exposure for Floridians. Representative Thompson also suggests making benefit payments to the unemployed retroactive to the date of unemployment.
