(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) today joined the full Maryland congressional delegation, including U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, John P. Sarbanes, Andy Harris, M.D., Anthony G. Brown, and David Trone, in sending a letter to Maryland Secretary of Labor Tiffany Robinson to offer support and assistance in ensuring Marylanders are able to receive unemployment benefits that are critically needed by many at this time. As noted in their letter, the Members are working to assist many of their constituents who are currently facing difficulty accessing these benefits.

The Members begin, “We are writing to offer our full support and assistance as you implement the unprecedented expansions of unemployment benefits recently enacted by Congress. We have heard from many constituents having difficulty accessing unemployment benefits and we understand you are facing massive new demand under these unique and challenging circumstances. We stand ready to work with you to ensure that these benefits reach struggling workers as soon as possible.”

They stress their willingness to work together on this issue, noting, “The U.S. Department of Labor is a vital partner for Maryland’s unemployment insurance system, and we are committed to ensuring that Maryland has all of the support it needs. We stand ready to assist if you have any unmet requirements from the U.S. Department of Labor for funding, technical assistance, or guidance. If federal systems are hampering delivery of Maryland benefits – as was recently reported with the Interstate Connection Network (ICON) database – please let us know. Additionally, we deeply value feedback on the unemployment legislation enacted so far by Congress, and especially suggestions for further changes that we should adopt in future legislation.”

The Members highlight how they can partner to help Marylanders, writing, “We would like to schedule a time for the Maryland Department of Labor to brief our staff on these subjects, with a focus on how we can best assist you and how our offices can best assist unemployed workers in Maryland. Caseworkers in our offices have been helping an unprecedented number of Marylanders seeking to claim unemployment benefits. Having the latest information to share with constituents and guidance on how to help Marylanders navigate the system to claim their benefits will greatly assist this casework.”

The full text of the letter is available here.

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