WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Cori Bush sent a letter to Missouri Governor Mike Parson regarding the state’s request for repayment of overpaid unemployment benefits.
In the letter, Bush urges Parson to begin readying the state to disperse more funds, rather than “expending their limited resources” to collect unemployment benefits they overpaid.
“The checks that went out during the pandemic were an essential lifeline to keep many people in my district housed and fed, covering a wide range of people, from people with dependents who have lost their jobs to those who have had to quit jobs to care for children who are at home because they are unable to attend school in-person. Reports that the state overpaid these benefits are concerning and part of a pattern involving many states that overpaid in the rush to provide relief to their residents.
"However, reports that Missouri’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) is requesting repayment on overpayments that were the state’s fault is deeply troubling. According to DLIR, at least 46,000 people were overpaid a collective $150 million in unemployment benefits last year. In many instances, residents across St. Louis and the state are being asked to repay up to $12,000 during a time of extraordinary economic hardship. My office has been inundated with calls from constituents with requests to pay such high sums back to the state,” Bush wrote.
5 On Your Side spoke with one Missouri woman who received a letter asking her to pay back nearly $10,000 in overpaid unemployment benefits.
"Because it was paid at no fault of mine but inappropriately is basically what the letter said," Katie Powell said.
According to 5 On Your Side's partners at St. Louis Public Radio, the department of labor confirmed in an email it overpaid about $96 million between January and September 2020, or about 2% of all the benefits paid out.
"They are going to garnish my paychecks to the point that I won't be able to afford childcare to be able to go to work, so it's a little backwards," Powell said. "It'll set me back in a way that I might not be able to recover from."
Parson addressed the issue during a news briefing earlier this month.
"There was mistakes made, there's no doubt about that, but at the end of the day, I think there is a responsibility with taxpayers' money. If somebody got more money than they should've got, you should ask for it back and say, 'Hey, you owe it to the taxpayers, you don't owe it to me, you owe it to the taxpayers,' because there's going to be somebody tomorrow wanting unemployment benefits," Parson said during a Feb. 4 briefing.
You can read Bush's full letter below:
