I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3568

To provide extended unemployment benefits to displaced workers, and to 

make other improvements in the unemployment insurance system. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2003

Mr. RANGEL (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. MCDERMOTT) introduced the 

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

A BILL

To provide extended unemployment benefits to displaced 

workers, and to make other improvements in the unemployment insurance system.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—TEMPORARY EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT 

COMPENSATION 

Sec. 101. References. 
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Sec. 102. Extension of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation 

Act of 2002. 

Sec. 103. Entitlement to additional weeks of temporary extended unemployment 

compensation. 

Sec. 104. Extended benefit periods. 

TITLE II—UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR INDIVIDUALS QUALIFYING BASED ON PART-TIME WORK OR AN ALTERNATIVE 

BASE PERIOD 

Sec. 201. Federal-State agreements. 

Sec. 202. Payments to States having agreements under this title. 

Sec. 203. Financing provisions. 

Sec. 204. Definitions. 

Sec. 205. Applicability.

1 TITLE I—TEMPORARY EX2 TENDED UNEMPLOYMENT 

3 COMPENSATION 

4 SEC. 101. REFERENCES. 

5 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

6 this title an amendment is expressed in terms of an 

7 amendment to a section or other provision, the reference 

8 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi9 sion of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Com10 pensation Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–147; 26 U.S.C. 

11 3304 note). 

12 SEC. 102. EXTENSION OF THE TEMPORARY EXTENDED UN13 EMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION ACT OF 2002. 

14 (a) SIX-MONTH EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.—Section 

15 208 is amended to read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 208. APPLICABILITY. 

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

3 agreement entered into under this title shall apply to 

4 weeks of unemployment—

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

6 agreement is entered into; and 

7 ‘‘(2) ending before July 1, 2004. 

8 ‘‘(b) TRANSITION.—In the case of an individual who 

9 is receiving temporary extended unemployment compensa10 tion for the week which immediately precedes the first day 

11 of the week that includes July 1, 2004, temporary ex12 tended unemployment compensation shall continue to be 

13 payable to such individual for any week thereafter from 

14 the account from which such individual received com15 pensation for the week immediately preceding that termi16 nation date. No compensation shall be payable by reason 

17 of the preceding sentence for any week beginning after De18 cember 31, 2004.’’. 

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

20 this section shall take effect as if included in the enact21 ment of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Com22 pensation Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–147; 26 U.S.C. 

23 3304 note). 
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1 SEC. 103. ENTITLEMENT TO ADDITIONAL WEEKS OF TEM2 PORARY EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT COM3 PENSATION. 

4 (a) WEEKS OF TEUC AMOUNTS.—Paragraph (1) of 

5 section 203(b) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount established in 

7 an account under subsection (a) shall be equal to 26 

8 times the individual’s weekly benefit amount for the 

9 benefit year.’’. 

10 (b) WEEKS OF TEUC–X AMOUNTS.—Section 

11 203(c)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘an amount equal to the 

12 amount originally established in such account (as deter13 mined under subsection (b)(1))’’ and inserting ‘‘7 times 

14 the individual’s weekly benefit amount for the benefit 

15 year’’. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

18 this section—

19 (A) shall take effect as if included in the 

20 enactment of the Temporary Extended Unem21 ployment Compensation Act of 2002 (Public 

22 Law 107–147; 26 U.S.C. 3304 note); but 

23 (B) shall apply only with respect to weeks 

24 of unemployment beginning on or after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, subject to paragraph 

26 (2). 
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1 (2) SPECIAL RULES.—In the case of an indi2 vidual for whom a temporary extended unemploy3 ment compensation account was established before 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Temporary 

5 Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 

6 (as amended by this title) shall be applied subject to 

7 the following: 

8 (A) Any amounts deposited in the individ9 ual’s temporary extended unemployment com10 pensation account by reason of section 203(c) 

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

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

13 Act shall be treated as amounts deposited by 

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

15 known as ‘‘TEUC amounts’’), as amended by 

16 subsection (a). 

17 (B) For purposes of determining whether 

18 the individual is eligible for any TEUC–X 

19 amounts under such Act, as amended by this 

20 title—

21 (i) any determination made under sec22 tion 203(c) of such Act before the applica23 tion of the amendments made by this title 

24 shall be disregarded; and 
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1 (ii) any such determination shall in2 stead be made by applying section 203(c) 

3 of such Act, as amended by this title—

4 (I) as of the time that all 

5 amounts established in such account 

6 in accordance with section 203(b) of 

7 such Act (as amended by this title, 

8 and including any amounts described 

9 in subparagraph (A)) are in fact ex10 hausted, except that 

11 (II) if such individual’s account 

12 was both augmented by and exhausted 

13 of all TEUC–X amounts before the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, such 

15 determination shall be made as if ex16 haustion (as described in section 

17 203(c)(1) of such Act) had not oc18 curred until such date of enactment. 

19 SEC. 104. EXTENDED BENEFIT PERIODS. 

20 (a) APPLICATION OF REVISED RATE OF INSURED

21 UNEMPLOYMENT.—Section 207 is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘In’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) IN GEN23 ERAL.—In’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(b) INSURED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE.—For pur2 poses of carrying out section 203(c) with respect to weeks 

3 of unemployment beginning on or after the date of enact4 ment of this subsection, the term ‘rate of insured unem5 ployment’, as used in section 203(d) of the Federal-State 

6 Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 

7 U.S.C. 3304 note), has the meaning given such term 

8 under section 203(e)(1) of such Act, except that individ9 uals exhausting their right to regular compensation during 

10 the most recent 3 calendar months for which data are 

11 available before the close of the period for which such rate 

12 is being determined shall be taken into account as if they 

13 were individuals filing claims for regular compensation for 

14 each week during the period for which such rate is being 

15 determined, and section 203(d)(1)(A) of such Act shall be 

16 disregarded.’’. 

17 (b) ADDITIONAL EXTENDED BENEFIT PERIOD TRIG18 GER.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(c) is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL EXTENDED BENEFIT PERIOD

22 TRIGGER.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Effective with respect 

24 to compensation for weeks of unemployment be25 ginning on or after the date of enactment of 
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1 this paragraph, an agreement under this title 

2 shall provide that, in addition to any other ex3 tended benefit period trigger, for purposes of 

4 beginning or ending any extended benefit period 

5 under this section—

6 ‘‘(i) there is a State ‘on’ indicator for 

7 a week if the average rate of total unem8 ployment in such State (seasonally ad9 justed) for the period consisting of the 

10 most recent 3 months for which data for 

11 all States are published before the close of 

12 such week equals or exceeds 6 percent; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) there is a State ‘off’ indicator for 

14 a week if the requirements of clause (i) are 

15 not satisfied. 

16 ‘‘(B) NO EFFECT ON OTHER DETERMINA17 TIONS.—Notwithstanding the provisions of any 

18 agreement described in subparagraph (A), any 

19 week for which there would otherwise be a 

20 State ‘on’ indicator shall continue to be such a 

21 week and shall not be determined to be a week 

22 for which there is a State ‘off’ indicator. 

23 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATIONS MADE BY THE

24 SECRETARY.—For purposes of this subsection, 

25 determinations of the rate of total unemploy-
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1 ment in any State for any period (and of any 

2 seasonal adjustment) shall be made by the Sec3 retary.’’. 

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

5 203(c)(1) is amended by inserting ‘‘or (3)’’ after 

6 ‘‘paragraph (2)’’. 

7 (c) PROVISIONS RELATING TO EXTENDED BENE8 FITS.—For purposes of conforming with the provisions of 

9 the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation 

10 Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note), a State may, for 

11 weeks of unemployment beginning on after the date of the 

12 enactment of this Act and on or before December 31, 

13 2004, waive the application of subparagraph (A) of section 

14 203(d)(1) of such Act, clause (ii) of section 203(f)(1)(A) 

15 of such Act, or both. 

16 TITLE II—UNEMPLOYMENT BEN17 EFITS FOR INDIVIDUALS 

18 QUALIFYING BASED ON PART19 TIME WORK OR AN ALTER20 NATIVE BASE PERIOD 

21 SEC. 201. FEDERAL-STATE AGREEMENTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any State which desires to do so 

23 may enter into and participate in an agreement under this 

24 title with the Secretary of Labor (hereinafter in this title 

25 referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’). Any State which is a party 
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1 to an agreement under this title may, upon providing 30 

2 days’ written notice to the Secretary, terminate such 

3 agreement. 

4 (b) PROVISIONS OF AGREEMENT.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any agreement under sub6 section (a) shall provide that the State agency of the 

7 State will make payments of regular compensation 

8 to individuals in amounts and to the extent that they 

9 would be determined if the State law were applied 

10 with the modifications described in paragraph (2). 

11 (2) MODIFICATIONS DESCRIBED.—The modi12 fications described in this paragraph are as follows: 

13 (A) In the case of an individual who is not 

14 eligible for regular compensation under the 

15 State law because of the use of a definition of

16 base period that does not count wages earned 

17 in the most recently completed calendar quar18 ter, eligibility for compensation under this title 

19 shall be determined by applying a base period 

20 ending at the close of the most recently com21 pleted calendar quarter. 

22 (B) In the case of an individual who is not 

23 eligible for regular compensation under the 

24 State law because such individual does not meet 

25 requirements relating to availability for work, 
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1 active search for work, or refusal to accept 

2 work, because such individual is seeking, or is 

3 available for, less than full-time work, com4 pensation under this title shall not be denied by 

5 such State to an otherwise eligible individual 

6 who seeks less than full-time work or fails to 

7 accept full-time work. 

8 (c) COORDINATION RULE.—The modifications de9 scribed in subsection (b)(2) shall also apply in determining 

10 the amount of benefits payable under any Federal law to 

11 the extent that those benefits are determined by reference 

12 to regular compensation payable under the State law of 

13 the State involved. 

14 SEC. 202. PAYMENTS TO STATES HAVING AGREEMENTS 

15 UNDER THIS TITLE. 

16 (a) GENERAL RULE.—There shall be paid to each 

17 State which has entered into an agreement under this title 

18 an amount equal to—

19 (1) 100 percent of any regular compensation 

20 made payable to individuals by such State by virtue 

21 of the modifications which are described in section 

22 201(b)(2) and deemed to be in effect with respect to 

23 such State pursuant to section 201(b)(1), and 

24 (2) 100 percent of any regular compensation—
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1 (A) which is paid to individuals by such 

2 State by reason of the fact that its State law 

3 contains provisions comparable to the modifica4 tions described in section 201(b)(2), but only 

5 (B) to the extent that those amounts 

6 would, if such amounts were instead payable by 

7 virtue of the State law’s being deemed to be so 

8 modified pursuant to section 201(b)(1), have 

9 been reimbursable under paragraph (1). 

10 (b) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT.—Sums under sub11 section (a) payable to any State by reason of such State 

12 having an agreement under this title shall be payable, ei13 ther in advance or by way of reimbursement (as may be 

14 determined by the Secretary), in such amounts as the Sec15 retary estimates the State will be entitled to receive under 

16 this title for each calendar month, reduced or increased, 

17 as the case may be, by any amount by which the Secretary 

18 finds that the Secretary’s estimates for any prior calendar 

19 month were greater or less than the amounts which should 

20 have been paid to the State. Such estimates may be made 

21 on the basis of such statistical, sampling, or other method 

22 as may be agreed upon by the Secretary and the State 

23 agency of the State involved. 

24 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE AND OTHER EXPENSES.—

25 There is hereby appropriated out of the employment secu-
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1 rity administration account of the Unemployment Trust 

2 Fund (as established by section 901(a) of the Social Secu3 rity Act) $500,000,000 to reimburse States for the costs 

4 of the administration of agreements under this title (in5 cluding any improvements in technology in connection 

6 therewith) and to provide reemployment services to unem7 ployment compensation claimants in States having agree8 ments under this title. Each State’s share of the amount 

9 appropriated by the preceding sentence shall be deter10 mined by the Secretary according to the factors described 

11 in section 302(a) of the Social Security Act and certified 

12 by the Secretary to the Secretary of the Treasury. 

13 SEC. 203. FINANCING PROVISIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Funds in the extended unemploy15 ment compensation account (as established by section 

16 905(a) of the Social Security Act), and the Federal unem17 ployment account (as established by section 904(g) of the 

18 Social Security Act), of the Unemployment Trust Fund 

19 shall be used, in accordance with subsection (b), for the 

20 making of payments (described in section 202(a)) to 

21 States having agreements entered into under this title. 

22 (b) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall from time 

23 to time certify to the Secretary of the Treasury for pay24 ment to each State the sums described in section 202(a) 

25 which are payable to such State under this title. The Sec-
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1 retary of the Treasury, prior to audit or settlement by the 

2 General Accounting Office, shall make payments to the 

3 State in accordance with such certification by transfers 

4 from the extended unemployment compensation account 

5 (or, to the extent that there are insufficient funds in that 

6 account, from the Federal unemployment account) to the 

7 account of such State in the Unemployment Trust Fund. 

8 SEC. 204. DEFINITIONS. 

9 For purposes of this title: 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘‘compensation’’, 

11 ‘‘regular compensation’’, ‘‘base period’’, ‘‘State’’, 

12 ‘‘State agency’’, ‘‘State law’’, and ‘‘week’’ have the 

13 respective meanings given such terms under section 

14 205 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment 

15 Compensation Act of 1970, subject to paragraph 

16 (2). 

17 (2) STATE LAW AND REGULAR COMPENSA18 TION.—In the case of a State entering into an 

19 agreement under this title—

20 (A) ‘‘State law’’ shall be considered to 

21 refer to the State law of such State, applied in 

22 conformance with the modifications described in 

23 section 201(b)(2), and 

24 (B) ‘‘regular compensation’’ shall be con25 sidered to refer to such compensation, deter-
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1 mined under its State law (applied in the man2 ner described in subparagraph (A)), 

3 except as otherwise provided or where the context 

4 clearly indicates otherwise. 

5 SEC. 205. APPLICABILITY. 

6 An agreement entered into under this title shall apply 

7 to weeks of unemployment—

8 (1) beginning after the date on which such 

9 agreement is entered into, and 

10 (2) ending before January 1, 2005.

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