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As unemployed Texans lose their federal benefits, the state is getting a federal pandemic fund windfall

The federal government has allocated billions to states, cities, and counties.

DALLAS — Editor's note: The video above is from a previous story.

Almost a million Texans lost all, or part of their weekly unemployment payment on June 26. 

That's when Gov. Abbott order canceling the extra federal benefits took effect - more than two months before they were supposed to expire. 

Some of you have reached out to say the Texas Workforce Commission’s website kind of broke down when you tried to claim that final week of federal money.

If that happened to you, TWC explained that you should log into your unemployment account and look for messaging from them. Also, they advised checking your email inbox and spam folder for any TWC messages. 

If you have no correspondence from TWC, and you have had trouble claiming your final federal benefits, TWC said the only remedy is to call their phone line (800-939-6631 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day).

If you must go that route, beware—all these months after the pandemic-induced economic plunge, the unemployment phone line is still overwhelmed and will require your patience.

State to get a federal pandemic relief windfall

As Texans lose those federal unemployment benefits, the state gets a tremendous federal payout. Each state recently learned the amount of their allotment.

Texas is getting a fat check worth $15,814,388,615 to offset pandemic-related economic losses. That’s in addition to the federal COVID relief payouts sent to Texas cities

Here is what the major population centers are receiving:

  • Dallas $355,426,891
  • El Paso $154,345,135
  • Fort Worth $173,745,090
  • Houston $607,769,139
  • San Antonio $326,919,408

Individual counties also got their own pots of money. Click here to check how much your county received.

All this federal funding is intended to help local and state governments meet their constituents’ pandemic-related needs and to help those government budgets bounce back after they took a tremendous hit in the worst of the pandemic, forcing many of those entities to slash spending.

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