Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Florida Democrats have been hounding the Governor’s office and Department of Economic Opportunity for the unemployment system’s failure since March.
Now, two high-ranking Democrats in the U.S. Senate are joining the cause.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Oregon U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor’s inspector general Monday requesting an investigation into why the system was slow to get benefits into the hands of jobless Floridians.
“Florida’s performance has proved uniquely poor in its abject inability to assist millions of Florida residents who have applied for and continue to await unemployment benefits,” they wrote.
Indeed, federal data released in April showed Florida processed its influx of unemployment applications slower than any other state.
Gov. Ron DeSantis brushed off Schumer and Wyden’s request as political theater and lauded the progress that’s been made on the system.
“We’ve really been able to pick this thing off the mat,” DeSantis said, vowing that “we’re going to do more.”
Much of the blame has fallen on the online application platform, CONNECT. The system was originally designed to handle 1,000 concurrent users, max. The first wave shattered the limit, and the system buckled under the strain.
Server capacity increases and platoons of new call center workers have helped speed up the claims process, though some say they’re still waiting on a check.
As far as the investigation DeSantis ordered at the state level, there’s no time frame for resolution.
“It’s going to take time,” DeSantis said, describing the “procurement process” for the state’s CONNECT website. “This took place over a number of years.”
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 63,378 FL residents (+962 since Sunday)
— 1,526 Non-FL residents (+4 since Sunday)
Origin:
— 2,189 Travel related
— 29,707 Contact with a confirmed case
— 2,099 Both
— 29,383 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 11,008 in FL
Deaths:
— 2,712 in FL
Unemployment Numbers
As of Sunday:
Total claims: 2,353,356
— Confirmed unique claims: 2,168,812
— Claim verification queue: 153,607
— Claims processed: 2,015,205
— Claims paid: 1,248,308 (+34,604 since Thursday)
Total paid out: $4.62 billion (+$219 million since Thursday)
Evening Reads
“Protests spread over police shootings. Police promised reforms. Every year, they still shoot and kill nearly 1,000 people.” via Mark Berman, John Sullivan, Julie Tate and Jennifer Jenkins of The Washington Post
“House Democrats seek policing overhaul amid widespread protests” via Kristina Peterson of The Wall Street Journal
“What would efforts to defund or disband police departments really mean?” via Dionne Searcey of The New York Times
“Muriel Bowser and black women are going after Trump. And they’re winning.” via Petula Dvorak of The Washington Post
“‘Extraordinary times’ shake up Joe Biden VP search” via Natasha Korecki and Marc Caputo of POLITICO
“Democrats’ poll finds Florida dissatisfaction with Donald Trump’s COVID-19 efforts” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics
“It’s official: The U.S. recession began in February” via Steve Matthews of Bloomberg
“America is giving up on the pandemic” via Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer of The Atlantic
“‘Dirty Tricks’: Rick Scott, Chinese press squabble over vaccine research” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“Our Governor is hiding in the Mansion trying to figure out how to talk to people of color who appear to be upset” via Diane Roberts of the Florida Phoenix
“Florida Supreme Court conservatives reverse long-standing criminal protections. It’s ‘alarming,’ defense lawyers say” via Monivette Cordeiro of the Orlando Sentinel
“I was furloughed in Florida and got too many unemployment payments. Here’s how I sent the money back” via Jessica Menton of USA TODAY
“Kathy Times: Journalist shares how encounters with riots, racism fueled change” via Kathy Times for Florida Politics
“Are pandemic-related rats taking over Tampa Bay? Well …” via Sue Carlton of the Tampa Bay Times
“GOP donor Hung Mai calls for Hillsborough Republican Party Chair to resign after derogatory Facebook posts” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics
Quote of the Day
“I’ve never heard of partisan politics in Washington D.C. before. Oh, my goodness, can you imagine that?” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, on U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer’s request for a probe into Florida’s unemployment system.
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