Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Madison County) wrote a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Tony Copeland addressing the issues of unemployment benefits. | Photo Courtesy of Sen. Ralph Hise
Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Madison County) wrote a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Tony Copeland addressing the issues of unemployment benefits. | Photo Courtesy of Sen. Ralph Hise
North Carolina Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Madison County) sent a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Tony Copeland about the unemployment challenges many North Carolinians are facing.
More than 300,000 residents filed for unemployment during the last two weeks of March, Hise wrote in a letter published to his Facebook page on April 2. Most of the claims were because unemployment COVID-19 caused.
"According to the Tax Foundation, for the period covering March 14 to March 21, North Carolina experienced a greater than 2,500% surge in unemployment claims," Hise said in the letter. "That surge would inundate even the best-designed system."
Constituents continue to voice their concerns about the Commerce Department's unemployment benefits system, saying that it can't adequately respond to the number of claims being filed.
"These citizens are rightfully anxious about their newly desperate circumstances," Hise said in the letter, especially now that they, "have suddenly become dependent on the availability of the Department's unemployment benefits to pay bills and buy groceries for their families."
Not only are these individuals now dependent on insurance benefits, but it is through no fault of their own that they lost their job, Hise said.
"Their need is immediate and critical," Hise said in the letter. "And they have zero patience for government inefficiency and bureaucracy."
In his letter, Hise continued by asking Copeland what he will do to "rectify a backlog that will hurt families all over the state?"
He asks that things improve quickly to help North Carolina families who are struggling due to the impact the pandemic has had on their lives and offers his help, along with the help of 19 other senators.
"Even in the face of this crisis, we are confident that we can come together as elected officials and public servants to ensure that our citizens receive what they were promised before it is too late," Hise said in the letter. "We are in this together, bout our constituents need answers."
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