Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2005 - Provides for increased regular unemployment compensation payments or emergency extended unemployment compensation for certain individuals who held employment or resided in an area declared a disaster as a result of Hurricane Katrina in the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3774 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3774
To provide for unemployment benefits for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 14, 2005
Mr. McDermott (for himself, Mr. Jefferson, and Mr. Stark) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for unemployment benefits for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency
Unemployment Compensation Act of 2005''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Federal-State agreements.
Sec. 3. Requirements relating to regular compensation.
Sec. 4. Requirements relating to emergency extended unemployment
compensation.
Sec. 5. Payments to States.
Sec. 6. Financing provisions.
Sec. 7. Definitions.
Sec. 8. Applicability.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL-STATE AGREEMENTS.
(a) In General.--Any State that is a qualified State and that
desires to do so may enter into and participate in an agreement under
this Act with the Secretary. Any State that is a party to an agreement
under this Act may, upon providing 30 days' written notice to the
Secretary, terminate such agreement.
(b) Provisions of Agreement.--Any agreement under subsection (a)
shall provide that the State agency of the State--
(1) will make payments of regular compensation in
conformance with the requirements of section 3; and
(2) will make payments of emergency extended unemployment
compensation in conformance with the requirements of section 4.
(c) Qualified State.--For purposes of this Act, the term
``qualified State'' means Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO REGULAR COMPENSATION.
(a) In General.--Any agreement under this Act shall provide that
the State agency of the State will make payments of regular
compensation to individuals in amounts and to the extent that they
would be determined if the State law of such State were applied with
the modification described in subsection (b).
(b) Modification Described.--
(1) Additional amount.--In the case of an eligible
individual, the amount of regular compensation (including
dependents' allowances) payable for any week of unemployment to
which such agreement applies shall be equal to the amount
determined under the State law (before the application of this
paragraph), plus an additional--
(A) 25 percent, or
(B) $100,
whichever is greater.
(2) Eligible individual.--For purposes of this section, the
term ``eligible individual'' means an individual who--
(A) is receiving regular compensation under the
State law of the State that is a party to the
agreement; and
(B) at any time during the week before the week
that includes August 28, 2005, either held employment
in or resided in an area--
(i) that is within a qualified State; and
(ii) for which the President has declared a
major disaster under the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) as a result of
Hurricane Katrina.
(c) Nonreduction Rule.--Under the agreement, subsection (b) shall
not apply (or shall cease to apply) with respect to a State upon a
determination by the Secretary that the method governing the
computation of regular compensation under the State law of such State
has been modified in a way such that--
(1) the average weekly amount of regular compensation which
will be payable during the period of the agreement (determined
disregarding the modification described in subsection (b)) will
be less than
(2) the average weekly amount of regular compensation which
would otherwise have been payable during such period under such
State law, as in effect on August 28, 2005.
(d) Coordination Rule.--The modification described in subsection
(b) shall also apply in determining the amount of benefits payable
under any Federal law, to any eligible individual, to the extent that
those benefits are determined by reference to regular compensation
payable under the State law of the State involved.
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO EMERGENCY EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT
COMPENSATION.
(a) In General.--Any agreement under this Act shall provide that
the State agency of the State will, for any weeks of unemployment to
which such agreement applies, make payments of emergency extended
unemployment compensation under this Act to individuals who--
(1) have exhausted all rights to regular compensation under
the State law or under Federal law, but only if exhaustion
occurs upon or after the close of the week that includes August
28, 2005;
(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;
(3) are not receiving compensation with respect to such
week under the unemployment compensation law of any other
country; and
(4) at any time during the week before the week that
includes August 28, 2005, either held employment in or resided
in an area--
(A) that is within a qualified State; and
(B) for which the President has declared a major
disaster under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.)
as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
(b) Exhaustion of Benefits.--For purposes of subsection (a)(1), an
individual shall be deemed to have exhausted such individual's rights
to regular compensation under a State law when--
(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; or
(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.
(c) Weekly Benefit Amount, Etc.--For purposes of any agreement
under this Act--
(1) the amount of emergency extended unemployment
compensation which shall be payable to any individual for any
week of total unemployment shall be equal to 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;
(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 emergency extended unemployment
compensation and to 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; and
(3) the maximum amount of emergency extended unemployment
compensation payable to any individual for whom an emergency
extended unemployment compensation account is established under
subsection (d) shall not exceed the amount established in such
account for such individual.
(d) Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Accounts.--
(1) In general.--Any agreement under this Act shall provide
that the State will establish, for each eligible individual who
files an application for emergency extended unemployment
compensation an emergency extended unemployment compensation
account with respect to such individual's benefit year.
(2) Amount in account.--
(A) In general.--The amount established in an
account under paragraph (1) shall be the amount equal
to 13 times the individual's average weekly benefit
amount for the benefit year.
(B) Weekly benefit amount.--For purposes of this
paragraph, an individual's average weekly benefit
amount for any week is the amount of regular
compensation (including dependents' allowances) under
the State law payable to such individual for such week
for total unemployment.
SEC. 5. PAYMENTS TO STATES.
(a) In General.--There shall be paid to each State which has
entered into an agreement under this Act the following:
(1) An amount equal to 100 percent of any additional
regular compensation made payable to individuals by such State
by virtue of the modification which described in section 3(b)
and deemed to be in effect with respect to such State pursuant
to section 3(a).
(2) An amount equal to 100 percent of any emergency
extended unemployment compensation paid to individuals by such
State pursuant to such agreement.
(3) An amount equal to 100 percent of any regular
compensation, not otherwise reimbursable under this section,
paid by such State under the State law of such State--
(A) to individuals whose unemployment was a result
of Hurricane Katrina (as determined under criteria
established by the Secretary); and
(B) for any weeks of unemployment to which such
agreement applies.
(b) Determination of Amount.--Sums payable under this section 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.
SEC. 6. FINANCING PROVISIONS.
(a) In General.--Funds in the extended unemployment compensation
account and the Federal unemployment account of the Unemployment Trust
Fund shall be used, in accordance with succeeding provisions of this
section, for the making of payments to States having agreements entered
into under this Act.
(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--
(1) by transfers from the extended unemployment
compensation account of the Unemployment Trust Fund, to the
extent that they relate to amounts described in paragraph (1)
or (2) of section 5(a); and
(2) by transfers from the Federal unemployment account of
the Unemployment Trust Fund, to the extent that they relate to
amounts described in section 5(a)(3).
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
(a) In General.--For purposes of this Act--
(1) the terms ``Secretary'', ``State'', ``State agency'',
``State law'', ``regular compensation'', ``week'', ``benefit
year'', and ``base period'' have the respective meanings given
such terms under section 205 of the Federal-State Extended
Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970;
(2) the terms ``wages'' and ``employment'' have the
respective meanings given such terms under section 3306 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(3) the term ``extended unemployment compensation account''
means the account established by section 905(a) of the Social
Security Act;
(4) the term ``Federal unemployment account'' means the
account established by section 904(g) of the Social Security
Act; and
(5) the term ``Unemployment Trust Fund'' means the fund
established by section 904(a) of the Social Security Act.
(b) Special Rule.--Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (a),
in the case of a State entering into an agreement under this Act--
(1) the term ``State law'' shall be considered to refer to
the State law of such State, applied in conformance with the
modification described in section 3(b), subject to section
3(c); and
(2) the term ``regular compensation'' shall be considered
to refer to such compensation, determined under its State law
(applied in the manner described in paragraph (1)),
except as otherwise provided or where the context clearly indicates
otherwise.
SEC. 8. APPLICABILITY.
An agreement entered into under this Act shall apply to weeks of
unemployment--
(1) beginning on or after the first day of the week that
includes August 28, 2005; and
(2) ending before September 1, 2006.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Human Resources.
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