GOP Sen. Ben Sasse to introduce bill offering signing bonuses to new hires
11 May 2021
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) plans to introduce legislation granting signing bonuses to new hires, he announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: The bonuses would replace expanded unemployment benefits and are aimed at boosting employment. Sasse called numbers in the latest jobs report "crummy."
- The U.S. gained 266,000 jobs last month, far lower than forecasters' expected 1 million, making this the biggest miss, relative to expectations, in decades.
How it works: Individuals who secure a job by July 4 would receive a bonus equal to 101% of two months of the federal enhanced unemployment benefit. Payments would be delivered in multiple installments.
What he's saying: "A year ago, before we had vaccines, expanded unemployment benefits started to pay more than work," Sasse said in a statement.
- "The emergency UI program is now penalizing people for going back to work," he added. "Go back to work, get your signing bonus, and get your paycheck. Let’s get America back to work."
What's next: Sasse said he plans to introduce the bill when Senate returns to session.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.