Alabama Republican Senate nominee Tommy Tuberville said today he opposes restoring the $600 a week federal unemployment supplement that expired Friday, a key point of debate in Washington over a new coronavirus relief package.
Tuberville was a guest this morning on “Alabama’s Morning News with JT” on News Radio 105.5 in Birmingham. He faces Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in the Nov. 3 general election.
Democrats in Congress want to extend the $600 per week federal supplement to state unemployment pay. Republicans generally oppose a supplement that large.
Tuberville said this morning that six hundred dollars a week was “way too much.”
“We’re having people just sit out not working because they’re making more sitting around. We’ve got to go back to work,” Tuberville said.
“I’d rather pay them to work. Pay people more money to go back to work other than sit at home because we’re going to get used to all this and it’s not going work.”
Tuberville said he supported President Trump’s proposal for a cut in the payroll tax. Employees pay a tax equal to about 7.6% of their earnings to support Social Security and Medicare. Employers match that with the same amount.
“President Trump will do an executive order,” Tuberville said. “He wants to do the payroll tax elimination. And he can do that on his own.”
Trump has said he has the authority to defer the collection of the tax through an executive order.
The radio host asked Tuberville asked about a poll released today by Morning Consult that showed him with a 17 percentage point lead over Jones.
“We’re not stopping,” Tuberville said. “We’re going to run through the finish line, J.T. We know how to work and people are behind us. We’ve got a double-digit lead but we’re playing this like we’re a touchdown behind.”
Joe Trippi, senior adviser to the Jones campaign, disputed the poll results.
“There is no way in hell Doug Jones is down by even double digits, much less 17 points,” Trippi said in an email shared by the Jones campaign. “No way – period. Every metric we have seen – from rising support for the Senator among suburban women to increased support with independents – points to this once again being a very close race.”
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Updated at 10:32 a.m. to add statement from the Jones campaign. Updated at 2:39 p.m. to change headline from “unemployment benefit” to “unemployment boost” to clarify that Tuberville was referring to the federal supplement to the state unemployment benefit. Also changed some wording in first and third paragraphs to clarify that.