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_______________________________

Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

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Congressional Research Service (CRS)

 

Unemployment Insurance: Legislative Issues in the 113th Congress

Julie M. Whittaker, Specialist in Income Security

Katelin P. Isaacs. Analyst in Income Security

September 5, 2013

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42936.pdf

[full-text, 24 pages]

 

Summary

The 113th Congress may face a number of issues related to currently available unemployment

insurance programs: Unemployment Compensation (UC), temporary Emergency Unemployment

Compensation (EUC08), and Extended Benefits (EB). With the national unemployment rate

decreasing but still high, the weekly demand for extended unemployment benefits continues at

elevated levels. Congress deliberated multiple times on whether to extend the authorization for

several key temporary unemployment insurance provisions in the 112th Congress and may do so

again in the 113th Congress. The signing of P.L. 112-240 on January 2, 2013, now means that the

EUC08 program expires the week ending on or before January 1, 2014. The 100% federal

financing of the EB program expires on December 31, 2013. In addition, the option for states to

use three-year EB trigger lookbacks (the period of time considered in determining an active EB

program within a state) expires the week ending on or before December 31, 2013.

 

The 113th Congress will face these expirations as well as likely unemployment insurance policy

issues, including unemployment insurance financing, integrity measures, and the appropriate

length and availability of unemployment benefits.

 

This report provides a brief overview of the three unemployment insurance programs—UC,

EUC08, and EB—that may currently pay benefits to eligible unemployed workers. This report

contains a brief explanation of how the EUC08 program, as well as some other UC-related

payments, began to experience reductions in benefits

as a result of the sequester order contained

within the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25).

 

This report also includes descriptions of the unemployment insurance provisions within H.R. 51,

H.R. 188, H.R. 1172, H.R. 1229, H.R. 1277, H.R. 1502, H.R. 1530, H.R. 1617, H.R. 2177, H.R.

2448, H.R. 2821, H.R. 2826, H.R. 2889, S. 18, S. 803, and S. 1099, as well as the President’s

Budget Proposal for FY2014.

 

Contents

Overview of Unemployment Insurance Programs ........................................................................... 1

Unemployment Compensation Program ................................................................................... 2

Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program ................................................................ 3

Current EUC08 Benefit Availability ................................................................................... 4

Current EUC08 Program Expiration ................................................................................... 4

Impact of Federal “Non-Reduction” Rule on State UC Laws ............................................. 5

Extended Benefit Program ........................................................................................................ 6

Temporary EB Trigger Modifications in P.L. 111-312 ........................................................ 7

Unemployment Benefits and the Sequester ..................................................................................... 7

EB and EUC08 Benefits Are Reduced ...................................................................................... 8

States May Have Trouble Implementing Reductions ................................................................ 8

Alleviating State Unemployment Compensation Stress .................................................................. 9

President’s Budget Proposal for FY2014 ......................................................................................... 9

Legislative Activity in the 113th Congress ....................................................................................... 9

Unemployment Insurance Provisions in the American Jobs Act of 2013 (H.R. 2821) ............. 9

Exempting UI Benefits from the Sequester ............................................................................. 11

Integrity Proposals ................................................................................................................... 11

Income Restrictions (“Millionaires”) ...................................................................................... 12

Vouchers .................................................................................................................................. 12

Job Training/Education ............................................................................................................ 12

Drug Testing ............................................................................................................................ 12

Aid for Hurricane Sandy States ............................................................................................... 13

Rehiring Unemployment Benefit Exhaustees .......................................................................... 13

Enacted Legislation in 112th Congress ........................................................................................... 13

Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25) ............................................................................... 13

The Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-40) ................................. 14

The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-78) ............................... 14

The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-96) ............................. 14

Unemployment Insurance Extensions in P.L. 112-96: Changes in EUC08 Structure and Maintenance of EB Provisions........... 14

Unemployment Compensation Reforms in P.L. 112-96 .................................................... 17

Emergency Unemployment Compensation Reforms and Reemployment

Strategies for Claimants in P.L. 112-96 .......................................................................... 18

Short-Time Compensation and Self-Employment Assistance Provisions in P.L. 112-96 ....................................... 18

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-240) .................................................... 19

 

Figures

Figure 1. Sequence of Unemployment Benefits: UC, EUC08, and EB ........................................... 2

Figure 2. P.L. 112-96 Changes to EUC08 Program ....................................................................... 16

 

Contacts

Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 20

 

 

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