I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1553

To provide for additional temporary extended unemployment compensation 

for certain displaced workers. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2003

Mr. ENGLISH (for himself, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. NEY, Mr. HOYER, Ms. DUNN, 

Ms. HART, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. 

WEINER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL

To provide for additional temporary extended unemployment 

compensation for certain displaced workers.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Air Transportation 

5 Employees Assistance Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 For purposes of this Act—

8 (1) the term ‘‘eligible individual’’ means an in9 dividual whose eligibility for temporary extended un-
2

•HR 1553 IH 

1 employment compensation is or would be based on 

2 the exhaustion of regular compensation, entitlement 

3 to which was based in whole or in part on qualifying 

4 employment performed during such individual’s base 

5 period; 

6 (2) the term ‘‘qualifying employment’’, with re7 spect to an eligible individual, means employment—

8 (A) with an air carrier, at a facility at an 

9 airport that involves the provision of transpor10 tation to or from an airport, or with an up11 stream producer or supplier for an air carrier; 

12 and 

13 (B) as determined by the Secretary, sepa14 ration from which was due, in whole or in part, 

15 to—

16 (i) reductions in service by an air car17 rier as a result of a terrorist action or se18 curity measure; 

19 (ii) a closure of an airport in the 

20 United States as a result of a terrorist ac21 tion or security measure; or 

22 (iii) a military conflict with Iraq that 

23 has been authorized by Congress; 
3

•HR 1553 IH 

1 (3) the term ‘‘air carrier’’ means an air carrier 

2 that holds a certificate issued under chapter 411 of 

3 title 49, United States Code; 

4 (4) the term ‘‘upstream producer’’ means a 

5 firm that performs additional, value-added, produc6 tion processes, including firms that perform final as7 sembly, finishing, or packaging of articles, for an8 other firm; 

9 (5) the term ‘‘supplier’’ means a firm that pro10 duces component parts for, or articles and contract 

11 services considered to be a part of the production 

12 process or services for, another firm; 

13 (6) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

14 of Labor; and 

15 (7) the term ‘‘terrorist action or security meas16 ure’’ means a terrorist attack on the United States 

17 on September 11, 2001, or a security measure taken 

18 in response to such attack. 

19 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL TEMPORARY EXTENDED UNEMPLOY20 MENT BENEFITS FOR ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES. 

21 In the case of an eligible employee, the Temporary 

22 Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 

23 (Public Law 107–147; 116 Stat. 21), as amended by Pub24 lic Law 108–1 (117 Stat. 3), shall be applied as if it had 

25 been amended in accordance with section 4. 
4

•HR 1553 IH 

1 SEC. 4. MODIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 3, the 

3 Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 

4 2002 (Public Law 107–147; 116 Stat. 21), as amended 

5 by Public Law 108–1 (117 Stat. 3), shall be treated as 

6 if it had been amended as provided in this section. 

7 (b) PROGRAM EXTENSION.—Deem section 208 of the 

8 Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 

9 2002, as amended by Public Law 108–1 (117 Stat. 3), 

10 to be amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 208. APPLICABILITY. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), an 

13 agreement entered into under this Act shall apply to weeks 

14 of unemployment—

15 ‘‘(1) beginning after the date on which such 

16 agreement is entered into; and 

17 ‘‘(2) ending before December 29, 2003. 

18 ‘‘(b) TRANSITION FOR AMOUNT REMAINING IN AC19 COUNT.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

21 in the case of an individual who has amounts re22 maining in an account established under section 203 

23 as of December 28, 2003, temporary extended un24 employment compensation shall continue to be pay25 able to such individual from such amounts for any 

26 week beginning after such date for which the indi-
5

•HR 1553 IH 

1 vidual meets the eligibility requirements of this Act, 

2 including such compensation payable by reason of 

3 amounts deposited in such account after such date 

4 pursuant to the application of subsection (c) of such 

5 section. 

6 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—No compensation shall be 

7 payable by reason of paragraph (1) for any week be8 ginning after December 26, 2004.’’. 

9 (c) ADDITIONAL WEEKS OF BENEFITS.—Deem sec10 tion 203 of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Com11 pensation Act of 2002, as amended by Public Law 108–

12 1 (117 Stat. 3), to be amended—

13 (1) in subsection (b)(1)—

14 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘50’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘150’’; and 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘13’’ and inserting ‘‘39’’; 

17 and 

(2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘1 18 ⁄3 of’’ 

19 after ‘‘equal to’’. 

20 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE OF MODIFICATIONS DE21 SCRIBED IN SUBSECTION (c).—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments described 

23 in subsection (c)—

24 (A) shall be deemed to have taken effect as 

25 if included in the enactment of the Temporary
6

•HR 1553 IH 

1 Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 

2 2002; but 

3 (B) shall be treated as applying only with 

4 respect to weeks of unemployment beginning on 

5 or after the date of enactment this Act, subject 

6 to paragraph (2). 

7 (2) SPECIAL RULES.—In the case of an eligible 

8 individual for whom a temporary extended unem9 ployment account was established before the date of 

10 enactment of this Act, the Temporary Extended Un11 employment Compensation Act of 2002 (as amended 

12 by this Act) shall be applied subject to the following: 

13 (A) Any amounts deposited in the individ14 ual’s temporary extended unemployment com15 pensation account by reason of section 203(c) 

16 of such Act (commonly known as ‘‘TEUC–X 

17 amounts’’) before the date of enactment of this 

18 Act shall be treated as amounts deposited by 

19 reason of section 203(b) of such Act (commonly 

20 known as ‘‘TEUC amounts’’), as deemed to 

21 have been amended by subsection (c)(1). 

22 (B) For purposes of determining whether 

23 the individual is eligible for any TEUC–X 

24 amounts under such Act, as deemed to be 

25 amended by this section—
7

•HR 1553 IH 

1 (i) any determination made under sec2 tion 203(c) of such Act before the applica3 tion of the amendment described in sub4 section (c)(2) shall be disregarded; and 

5 (ii) any such determination shall in6 stead be made by applying section 203(c) 

7 of such Act, as deemed to be amended by 

8 subsection (c)(2)—

9 (I) as of the time that all 

10 amounts established in such account 

11 in accordance with section 203(b) of 

12 such Act (as deemed to be amended 

13 under this section, and including any 

14 amounts described in subparagraph 

15 (A)) are in fact exhausted, except that 

16 (II) if such individual’s account 

17 was both augmented by and exhausted 

18 of all TEUC–X amounts before the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, such 

20 determination shall be made as if ex21 haustion (as described in section 

22 203(c)(1) of such Act) had not oc23 curred until such date of enactment.

Æ