Lawmakers call for state to pay its unemployment system debt

ALBANY, N.Y. — Lawmakers are calling on the state to pay down outstanding debt and the governor is weighing in.

This is the latest development in a story we’ve been investigating for months here at News10NBC.

On Monday, State Senator George Borrello and his republican colleagues sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul demanding next year’s budget include funding to pay down the state’s $7.8 billion in unemployment system debt.

We’ve been telling you about a recent report that found at least $11 billion was lost to fraudulent unemployment claims during the pandemic.