HR 5749
6-11-08, Bill Passed House 279-144
Placed on Senate Calendar No. 780
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5749
AN ACT
To provide for a program of 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the `Emergency Extended Unemployment
Compensation Act of 2008'.
(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Federal-State agreements.
Sec. 3. Emergency unemployment compensation account.
Sec. 4. Payments to States having agreements for the payment of emergency
unemployment compensation.
Sec. 5. Financing provisions.
Sec. 6. Fraud and overpayments.
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.
(b) Provisions of Agreement- Any agreement under subsection (a) shall provide
that the State agency of the State will make payments of emergency unemployment
compensation to individuals who--
(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 May 1, 2007);
(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 (except as provided under
subsection (e)); and
(3) are not receiving compensation with respect to such week under the unemployment
compensation law of Canada.
(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--
(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.
(d) Weekly Benefit Amount, etc- For purposes of any agreement under this Act--
(1) the amount of emergency 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 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; and
(3) the maximum amount of emergency unemployment compensation payable to
any individual for whom an emergency unemployment compensation account is
established under section 3 shall not exceed the amount established in such
account for such individual.
(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 emergency unemployment compensation
prior to extended compensation to individuals who otherwise meet the requirements
of this section.
(f) Unauthorized Aliens Ineligible- A State shall require as a condition of
eligibility for emergency unemployment compensation under this Act that each
alien who receives such compensation must be legally authorized to work in
the United States, as defined for purposes of the Federal Unemployment Tax
Act (26 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.). In determining whether an alien meets the requirements
of this subsection, a State must follow the procedures provided in section
1137(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-7(d)).
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY 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
emergency unemployment compensation, an emergency unemployment compensation
account with respect to such individual's benefit year.
(1) IN GENERAL- The amount established in an account under subsection (a)
shall be equal to the lesser of--
(A) 50 percent of the total amount of regular compensation (including
dependents' allowances) payable to the individual during the individual's
benefit year under such law, or
(B) 13 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount for the benefit
year.
(2) WEEKLY BENEFIT AMOUNT- For purposes of this subsection, an individual's
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.
(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if,
at the time that the individual's account is exhausted or at any time thereafter,
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 the amount originally established in such account (as determined
under subsection (b)(1)).
(2) EXTENDED BENEFIT PERIOD- For purposes of paragraph (1), a State shall
be considered to be in an extended benefit period, as of any given time,
if--
(A) such a period is then in effect for such State under the Federal-State
Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970;
(B) such a period would then be in effect for such State under such Act
if section 203(d) of such Act--
(i) were applied by substituting `4' for `5' each place it appears;
and
(ii) did not include the requirement under paragraph (1)(A); or
(C) such a period would then be in effect for such State under such Act
if--
(i) section 203(f) of such Act were applied to such State (regardless
of whether the State by law had provided for such application); and
(ii) such section 203(f)--
(I) were applied by substituting `6.0' for `6.5' in paragraph (1)(A)(i);
and
(II) did not include the requirement under paragraph (1)(A)(ii).
SEC. 4. PAYMENTS TO STATES HAVING AGREEMENTS FOR THE PAYMENT OF EMERGENCY
UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.
(a) General Rule- There shall be paid to each State that has entered into
an agreement under this Act an amount equal to 100 percent of the emergency
unemployment compensation paid to individuals by the State pursuant to such
agreement.
(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.
(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.
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.
(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).
(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.
(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--
(1) compensation payable under chapter 85 of title 5, United States Code;
and
(2) compensation payable on the basis of services to which section 3309(a)(1)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 applies.
Amounts appropriated pursuant to the preceding sentence shall not be required
to be repaid.
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 emergency unemployment compensation
under this Act to which he was not entitled, such individual--
(1) shall be ineligible for further emergency 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; and
(2) shall be subject to prosecution under section 1001 of title 18, United
States Code.
(b) Repayment- In the case of individuals who have received amounts of emergency
unemployment compensation under this Act to which they were not entitled,
the State shall require such individuals to repay the amounts of such emergency
unemployment compensation to the State agency, except that the State agency
may waive such repayment if it determines that--
(1) the payment of such emergency unemployment compensation was without
fault on the part of any such individual; and
(2) such repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience.
(c) Recovery by State Agency-
(1) IN GENERAL- The State agency may recover the amount to be repaid, or
any part thereof, by deductions from any emergency unemployment compensation
payable to such individual under this Act or from any unemployment compensation
payable to such individual under any State or 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 emergency 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.
(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.
(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.
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).
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--
(1) beginning after the date on which such agreement is entered into; and
(2) ending on or before March 31, 2009.
(b) Transition for Amount Remaining in Account-
(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 last day of the last week (as determined in accordance with the applicable
State law) ending on or before March 31, 2009, emergency unemployment compensation
shall continue to be payable to such individual from such amounts for any
week beginning after such last day for which the individual meets the eligibility
requirements of this Act.
(2) LIMIT ON AUGMENTATION- If the account of an individual is exhausted
after the last day of such last week (as so determined), 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).
(3) LIMIT ON COMPENSATION- No compensation shall be payable by reason of
paragraph (1) for any week beginning after June 30, 2009.
Passed the House of Representatives June 12, 2008.
Attest:
Clerk.
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5749
AN ACT
To provide for a program of emergency unemployment compensation.
END
