CNN – Just thinking about the end of July fills Cathy Munzer with terror. That's when the extra $600 in weekly federal unemployment benefits is set to expire, with no sign of agreement in Congress on an extension.
Munzer, a yoga and fitness instructor in New York City, lost her jobs at several sports clubs in mid-March amid the coronavirus pandemic. She depends on the enhanced payment to cover her rent and health insurance and buy food for herself and her daughter, Olivia. The roughly $500 she receives in state benefits isn’t enough, she said.
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With no date set for gyms to reopen, Munzer fears she could wind up homeless and be forced to send her 12-year-old to live with her ex-husband. She doesn't think she'll be able to find another job before the $600 federal boost runs out in three weeks and hopes lawmakers take action.
“No one is hiring. They are laying people off,” said Munzer, 53. “I didn’t choose this. I beg them to extend it.”