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kcra.com: https://www.kcra.com/article/rep-fong-files-bill-to-push-california-leaders-to-pay-back-22-billion-unemployment-insurance-debt/71354456

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GDELT news · original
Published
Wednesday, May 20, 2026

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Fong files bill to push California leaders to pay back $22 billion unemployment insurance debt Skip to content NOWCAST KCRA 3 News at 7pm Watch on Demand Menu Search News Policies News Local News 3 Investigates National News Consumer News Get the Facts Entertainment Health Project CommUNITY Dying to Ask

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Rep. Fong files bill to push California leaders to pay back $22 billion unemployment insurance debt Skip to content NOWCAST KCRA 3 News at 7pm Watch on Demand Menu Search News Policies News Local News 3 Investigates National News Consumer News Get the Facts Entertainment Health Project CommUNITY Dying to Ask Explore Outdoors Farm to Fork Friday Making Cents Upload Weather Radar Alerts Forecasting Our Future Wildfires Traffic Politics California Politics 360 Noticias EstrellaTV Sports High School Playbook Scoreboards Olympics Dignity Health Heart Hub (Ad) Advertise with KCRA About Newsletters News Team Station Contacts Editorials Community Women in Agriculture Very Local California-specific practice Titan TV Guide MeTV My58 Privacy Notice Notice at Collection Terms of Use SUBSCRIBE TO EMAIL Weather Search Press enter to search Type to Search Search location by ZIP code ZIP Advertisement Rep. Fong files bill to push California leaders to pay back $22 billion unemployment insurance debt Rep. Fong files bill to push California leaders to pay back $22 billion unemployment insurance debt Businesses across California are paying even more for their federal payroll taxes because of spending decisions by California lawmakers and the governor. California is the only state in the nation that has not repaid its $20 billion loan from the federal government that helped with unemployment costs during the pandemic. California leaders haven't used state money to repay the loan, and federal law requires businesses to take on the debt. To talk about the statewide impact, Ashley spoke with the leader of the California Business Roundtable. Joining us now to unpack the situation is Rob Lapsley, the president of the California Business Roundtable, which lobbies on behalf of some of the state's largest employers at the state Capitol. Rob, thank you so much for making time for us. It's *** pleasure. Thank you. So Rob, another year of California employers shouldering this federal debt. I mean from your perspective, what does this mean for the business community in the state? Well, it creates another disincentive to be able to scale and grow jobs here. We are in such *** competitive environment. Remember we have the highest unemployment rate in the nation, now at 5.9%. And so when you couple that with what employers have to pay that nobody else has to pay in this country, they've all paid off their debt except for California, and that debt is increasing annually and now it's become *** real problem for both large and small companies. The governor last year told me he would try to make the case to the legislature to put billions toward the principal of this loan. The legislative analysts had suggested they refinance this so that businesses and essentially state taxpayers are, are. Putting money toward the principal together, shouldering this together, but nothing ever happened so what is your response to that? You know, so when you look at the histor

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