As the December 26 expiration date for key temporary unemployment benefits approaches, the media has been filled with stories about a looming “Christmas cliff” facing millions of recipients. Which begs the question: why did lawmakers set benefits to expire the day after Christmas in the first place, timing which can be so easily ridiculed? The answer reflects the sometimes bizarre logic behind how Washington works. That is, the same lawmakers who created the temporary benefits deliberately chose program expiration dates like the day after Christmas because they believe that joyless timing increases the chances the benefits will be extended.
While the March CARES Act that created these temporary unemployment benefits received bipartisan support, it’s no secret each party had different priorities for key provisions that went into it, or that its unemployment benefit policies were drafted by Democratic lawmakers. As Politico noted, the federal $600-per-week unemployment bonus policy was “a provision Democrats added” to the legislation. That extraordinary unemployment assistance was the key demand of Democrats in relief negotiations: “‘That is our bottom line. It is our single most important issue,’ Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told reporters about expanding unemployment.” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) even claimed he “conceived this plan,” starting with its “dramatic and historic expansion and reform of the unemployment insurance program.
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