S 2544 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide for a program of temporary extended unemployment compensation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

January 22 (legislative day, January 3), 2008

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. DODD, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. REED, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. OBAMA, and Mr. BROWN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on FinanceCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide for a program of temporary extended unemployment compensation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the `Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents of this Act is as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 2. Federal-State agreements.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 3. Temporary extended unemployment compensation account.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 4. Payments to States having agreements for the payment of temporary extended unemployment compensation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 5. Financing provisions.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 6. Fraud and overpayments.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 7. Definitions.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 8. Applicability.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FEDERAL-STATE AGREEMENTS.

(a) In General- Any State which desires to do so may enter into and participate in an agreement under this Act with the Secretary of Labor (in this Act referred to as the `Secretary'). Any State which is a party to an agreement under this Act may, upon providing 30 days written notice to the Secretary, terminate such agreement.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Provisions of Agreement- Any agreement under subsection (a) shall provide that the State agency of the State will make payments of temporary extended unemployment compensation to individuals who--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) have exhausted all rights to regular compensation under the State law or under Federal law with respect to a benefit year (excluding any benefit year that ended before the date that is 1 year prior to the date of enactment of this Act);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) have no rights to regular compensation or extended compensation with respect to a week under such law or any other State unemployment compensation law or to compensation under any other Federal law;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) are not receiving compensation with respect to such week under the unemployment compensation law of Canada; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) filed an initial claim for regular compensation on or after the date that is 1 year prior to the date of enactment of this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Exhaustion of Benefits- For purposes of subsection (b)(1), an individual shall be deemed to have exhausted such individual's rights to regular compensation under a State law when--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) no payments of regular compensation can be made under such law because such individual has received all regular compensation available to such individual based on employment or wages during such individual's base period; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) such individual's rights to such compensation have been terminated by reason of the expiration of the benefit year with respect to which such rights existed.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Weekly Benefit Amount, etc- For purposes of any agreement under this Act--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the amount of temporary extended unemployment compensation which shall be payable to any individual for any week of total unemployment shall be equal to the sum of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the amount of the regular compensation (including dependents' allowances) payable to such individual during such individual's benefit year under the State law for a week of total unemployment; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) $50;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) the terms and conditions of the State law which apply to claims for regular compensation and to the payment thereof shall apply to claims for temporary extended unemployment compensation and the payment thereof, except where otherwise inconsistent with the provisions of this Act or with the regulations or operating instructions of the Secretary promulgated to carry out this Act; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) the maximum amount of temporary extended unemployment compensation payable to any individual for whom a temporary extended unemployment compensation account is established under section 3 shall not exceed the amount established in such account for such individual.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(e) Election by States- Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal law (and if State law permits), the Governor of a State that is in an extended benefit period may provide for the payment of temporary extended unemployment compensation in lieu of extended compensation to individuals who otherwise meet the requirements of this section. Such an election shall not require a State to trigger off an extended benefit period.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. TEMPORARY EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION ACCOUNT.

(a) In General- Any agreement under this Act shall provide that the State will establish, for each eligible individual who files an application for temporary extended unemployment compensation, a temporary extended unemployment compensation account with respect to such individual's benefit year.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Amount in Account-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- The amount established in an account under subsection (a) shall be equal to 20 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount (as determined under paragraph (2)) for the benefit year.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) WEEKLY BENEFIT AMOUNT- For purposes of paragraph (1) and subsection (c)(1), an individual's weekly benefit amount for any week is equal to the sum of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the amount of regular compensation (including dependents' allowances) under the State law payable to such individual for such week for total unemployment; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) $50.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Special Rule-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if, at the time that the individual's account is exhausted, such individual's State is in an extended benefit period (as determined under paragraph (2)), then, such account shall be augmented by an amount equal to 13 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount (as determined under subsection (b)(2)) for the benefit year.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) EXTENDED BENEFIT PERIOD- For purposes of paragraph (1), a State shall be considered to be in an extended benefit period if, at the time of exhaustion (as described in paragraph (1)) or at any time during the period beginning on the date of enactment of this act and ending at the time of such exhaustion--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) such a period is then in effect for such State under the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) such a period would then be in effect for such State under such Act if--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) section 203(f) of such Act was applied to such State (regardless of whether the State by law had provided for such application); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) such section 203(f)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(I) was applied by substituting `6.0' for `6.5' in paragraph (1)(A)(i); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(II) did not include the requirement under paragraph (1)(A)(ii).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. PAYMENTS TO STATES HAVING AGREEMENTS FOR THE PAYMENT OF TEMPORARY EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.

(a) General Rule- There shall be paid to each State which has entered into an agreement under this Act an amount equal to 100 percent of the temporary extended unemployment compensation paid to individuals by the State pursuant to such agreement.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Treatment of Reimbursable Compensation- No payment shall be made to any State under this section in respect of any compensation to the extent the State is entitled to reimbursement in respect of such compensation under the provisions of any Federal law other than this Act or chapter 85 of title 5, United States Code. A State shall not be entitled to any reimbursement under such chapter 85 in respect of any compensation to the extent the State is entitled to reimbursement under this Act in respect of such compensation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Determination of Amount- Sums payable to any State by reason of such State having an agreement under this Act shall be payable, either in advance or by way of reimbursement (as may be determined by the Secretary), in such amounts as the Secretary estimates the State will be entitled to receive under this Act for each calendar month, reduced or increased, as the case may be, by any amount by which the Secretary finds that the Secretary's estimates for any prior calendar month were greater or less than the amounts which should have been paid to the State. Such estimates may be made on the basis of such statistical, sampling, or other method as may be agreed upon by the Secretary and the State agency of the State involved.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 5. FINANCING PROVISIONS.

(a) In General- Funds in the extended unemployment compensation account (as established by section 905(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1105(a))) of the Unemployment Trust Fund (as established by section 904(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1104(a))) shall be used for the making of payments to States having agreements entered into under this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Certification- The Secretary shall from time to time certify to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment to each State the sums payable to such State under this Act. The Secretary of the Treasury, prior to audit or settlement by the Government Accountability Office, shall make payments to the State in accordance with such certification, by transfers from the extended unemployment compensation account (as so established) to the account of such State in the Unemployment Trust Fund (as so established).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Assistance to States- There are appropriated out of the employment security administration account (as established by section 901(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1101(a))) of the Unemployment Trust Fund, without fiscal year limitation, such funds as may be necessary for purposes of assisting States (as provided in title III of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 501 et seq.)) in meeting the costs of administration of agreements under this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Appropriations for Certain Payments- There are appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury, without fiscal year limitation, to the extended unemployment compensation account (as so established) of the Unemployment Trust Fund (as so established) such sums as the Secretary estimates to be necessary to make the payments under this section in respect of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) compensation payable under chapter 85 of title 5, United States Code; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) compensation payable on the basis of services to which section 3309(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 applies.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Amounts appropriated pursuant to the preceding sentence shall not be required to be repaid.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 6. FRAUD AND OVERPAYMENTS.

(a) In General- If an individual knowingly has made, or caused to be made by another, a false statement or representation of a material fact, or knowingly has failed, or caused another to fail, to disclose a material fact, and as a result of such false statement or representation or of such nondisclosure such individual has received an amount of temporary extended unemployment compensation under this Act to which the individual was not entitled, such individual--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) shall be ineligible for further temporary extended unemployment compensation under this Act in accordance with the provisions of the applicable State unemployment compensation law relating to fraud in connection with a claim for unemployment compensation; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) shall be subject to prosecution under section 1001 of title 18, United States Code.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Repayment- In the case of individuals who have received amounts of temporary extended unemployment compensation under this Act to which they were not entitled, the State shall require such individuals to repay the amounts of such temporary extended unemployment compensation to the State agency, except that the State agency may waive such repayment if it determines that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the payment of such temporary extended unemployment compensation was without fault on the part of any such individual; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) such repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Recovery by State Agency-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- The State agency may recover the amount to be repaid, or any part thereof, by deductions from any temporary extended unemployment compensation payable to such individual under this Act or from any unemployment compensation payable to such individual under any Federal unemployment compensation law administered by the State agency or under any other Federal law administered by the State agency which provides for the payment of any assistance or allowance with respect to any week of unemployment, during the 3-year period after the date such individuals received the payment of the temporary extended unemployment compensation to which they were not entitled, except that no single deduction may exceed 50 percent of the weekly benefit amount from which such deduction is made.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING- No repayment shall be required, and no deduction shall be made, until a determination has been made, notice thereof and an opportunity for a fair hearing has been given to the individual, and the determination has become final.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Review- Any determination by a State agency under this section shall be subject to review in the same manner and to the same extent as determinations under the State unemployment compensation law, and only in that manner and to that extent.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act, the terms `compensation', `regular compensation', `extended compensation', `benefit year', `base period', `State', `State agency', `State law', and `week' have the respective meanings given such terms under section 205 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 8. APPLICABILITY.

(a) In General- Except as provided in subsection (b), an agreement entered into under this Act shall apply to weeks of unemployment--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) beginning after the date on which such agreement is entered into; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) ending on or before the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Transition for Amount Remaining in Account-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), in the case of an individual who has amounts remaining in an account established under section 3 as of the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, temporary extended unemployment compensation shall continue to be payable to such individual from such amounts for any week beginning after the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act for which the individual meets the eligibility requirements of this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) NO AUGMENTATION AFTER 1 YEAR AFTER THE DATE OF ENACTMENT OF THIS ACT- If the account of an individual is exhausted after the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, then section 3(c) shall not apply and such account shall not be augmented under such section, regardless of whether such individual's State is in an extended benefit period (as determined under paragraph (2) of such section).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) LIMITATION- No compensation shall be payable by reason of paragraph (1) for any week beginning after the date that is 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink