To provide for emergency unemployment compensation.

March 12, 2003

Mr. LEVIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

To provide for emergency unemployment compensation.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. ENTITLEMENT TO ADDITIONAL WEEKS OF TEMPORARY EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.

(a) ENTITLEMENT TO ADDITIONAL WEEKS-

(1) IN GENERAL- Paragraph (1) of section 203(b) of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-147; 116 Stat. 28) is amended--

(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking `50 percent' and inserting `100 percent'; and

(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking `13 times' and inserting `26 times'.

(2) REPEAL OF RESTRICTION ON AUGMENTATION DURING TRANSITIONAL PERIOD- Section 208(b) of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-147), as amended by Public Law 108-1, is amended--

(A) in paragraph (1)--

(i) by striking `paragraphs (2) and (3)' and inserting `paragraph (2)'; and

(ii) by inserting before the period at the end the following: `, including such compensation payable by reason of amounts deposited in such account after such date pursuant to the application of subsection (c) of such section';

(B) by striking paragraph (2); and

(C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2).

(3) EXTENSION OF TRANSITION LIMITATION- Section 208(b)(2) of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-147), as amended by Public Law 108-1 and as redesignated by paragraph (2), is amended by striking `August 30, 2003' and inserting `December 27, 2003'.

(4) CONFORMING AMENDMENT FOR AUGMENTED BENEFITS- Section 203(c)(1) of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-147; 116 Stat. 28) is amended by striking `the amount originally established in such account (as determined under subsection (b)(1))' and inserting `7 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount for the benefit year'.

(b) EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICATION-

(1) IN GENERAL- The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

(2) TEUC-X AMOUNTS DEPOSITED IN ACCOUNT PRIOR TO DATE OF ENACTMENT DEEMED TO BE THE ADDITIONAL TEUC AMOUNTS PROVIDED BY THIS SECTION- In applying the amendments made by subsection (a) under the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-147; 116 Stat. 26), the Secretary of Labor shall deem any amounts deposited into an individual's temporary extended unemployment compensation account by reason of section 203(c) of such Act (commonly known as `TEUC-X amounts') prior to the date of enactment of this Act to be amounts deposited in such account by reason of section 203(b) of such Act, as amended by subsection (a) (commonly known as `TEUC amounts').

(3) APPLICATION TO EXHAUSTEES AND CURRENT BENEFICIARIES-

(A) EXHAUSTEES- In the case of any individual--

(i) to whom any temporary extended unemployment compensation was payable for any week beginning before the date of enactment of this Act; and

(ii) who exhausted such individual's rights to such compensation (by reason of the payment of all amounts in such individual's temporary extended unemployment compensation account) before such date,

such individual's eligibility for any additional weeks of temporary extended unemployment compensation by reason of the amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

(B) CURRENT BENEFICIARIES- In the case of any individual--

(i) to whom any temporary extended unemployment compensation was payable for any week beginning before the date of enactment of this Act; and

(ii) as to whom the condition described in subparagraph (A)(ii) does not apply,

such individual shall be eligible for temporary extended unemployment compensation (in accordance with the provisions of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002, as amended by subsection (a)) with respect to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

(4) REDETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR AUGMENTED AMOUNTS FOR INDIVIDUALS FOR WHOM SUCH A DETERMINATION WAS MADE PRIOR TO THE DATE OF ENACTMENT- Any determination of whether the individual's State is in an extended benefit period under section 203(c) of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-147; 116 Stat. 28) made prior to the date of enactment of this Act shall be disregarded and the determination under such section shall be made as follows:

(A) INDIVIDUALS WHO EXHAUSTED ALL TEUC AND TEUX-X AMOUNTS PRIOR TO THE DATE OF ENACTMENT- In the case of an individual whose temporary extended unemployment account has, prior to the date of enactment of this Act, been both augmented under section 203(c) of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 and exhausted of all amounts by which it was so augmented, the determination shall be made as of such date of enactment.

(B) ALL OTHER INDIVIDUALS- In the case of an individual who is not described in subparagraph (A), the determination shall be made at the time that the individual's account established under such section 203, as amended by subsection (a), is exhausted.

END