I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3639

To extend the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 

2002, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2003

Mr. TIAHRT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL

To extend the Temporary Extended Unemployment 

Compensation Act of 2002, and for other purposes.

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; REFERENCES. 

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

5 ‘‘American Workers Assistance Act’’. 

6 (b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly 

7 provided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed 

8 in terms of an amendment to a section or other provision, 

9 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section 

10 or other provision of the Temporary Extended Unemploy-
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1 ment Compensation Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–147; 

2 26 U.S.C. 3304 note). 

3 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF THE TEMPORARY EXTENDED UNEM4 PLOYMENT COMPENSATION ACT OF 2002. 

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

6 208 is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 208. APPLICABILITY. 

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

9 agreement entered into under this title shall apply to 

10 weeks of unemployment—

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

12 agreement is entered into; and 

13 ‘‘(2) ending before July 1, 2004. 

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

15 is receiving temporary extended unemployment compensa16 tion for the week which immediately precedes the first day 

17 of the week that includes July 1, 2004, temporary ex18 tended unemployment compensation shall continue to be 

19 payable to such individual for any week thereafter from 

20 the account from which such individual received com21 pensation for the week immediately preceding that termi22 nation date. No compensation shall be payable by reason 

23 of the preceding sentence for any week beginning after De24 cember 31, 2004.’’. 
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

2 this section shall take effect as if included in the enact3 ment of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Com4 pensation Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–147; 26 U.S.C. 

5 3304 note). 

6 SEC. 3. ENTITLEMENT TO ADDITIONAL WEEKS OF TEM7 PORARY EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT COM8 PENSATION. 

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

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

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

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

13 times the individual’s weekly benefit amount for the 

14 benefit year.’’. 

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

16 203(c)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘an amount equal to the 

17 amount originally established in such account (as deter18 mined under subsection (b)(1))’’ and inserting ‘‘7 times 

19 the individual’s weekly benefit amount for the benefit 

20 year’’. 

21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

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

23 this section—

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

25 enactment of the Temporary Extended Unem-
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1 ployment Compensation Act of 2002 (Public 

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

3 (B) shall apply only with respect to weeks 

4 of unemployment beginning on or after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, subject to paragraph 

6 (2). 

7 (2) SPECIAL RULES.—In the case of an indi8 vidual for whom a temporary extended unemploy9 ment compensation account was established before 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Temporary 

11 Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 

12 (as amended by this Act) shall be applied subject to 

13 the following: 

14 (A) Any amounts deposited in the individ15 ual’s temporary extended unemployment com16 pensation account by reason of section 203(c) 

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

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

19 Act shall be treated as amounts deposited by 

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

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

22 subsection (a). 

23 (B) For purposes of determining whether 

24 the individual is eligible for any TEUC–X 
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1 amounts under such Act, as amended by this 

2 Act—

3 (i) any determination made under sec4 tion 203(c) of such Act before the applica5 tion of the amendments made by this Act 

6 shall be disregarded; and 

7 (ii) any such determination shall in8 stead be made by applying section 203(c) 

9 of such Act, as amended by this Act—

10 (I) as of the time that all 

11 amounts established in such account 

12 in accordance with section 203(b) of 

13 such Act (as amended by this Act, 

14 and including any amounts described 

15 in subparagraph (A)) are in fact ex16 hausted, except that 

17 (II) if such individual’s account 

18 was both augmented by and exhausted 

19 of all TEUC–X amounts before the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, such 

21 determination shall be made as if ex22 haustion (as described in section 

23 203(c)(1) of such Act) had not oc24 curred until such date of enactment. 
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1 SEC. 4. EXTENDED BENEFIT PERIODS. 

2 (a) APPLICATION OF REVISED RATE OF INSURED

3 UNEMPLOYMENT.—Section 207 is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘In’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) IN GEN5 ERAL.—In’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(b) INSURED UNEMPLOYMENT RATE.—For pur8 poses of carrying out section 203(c) with respect to weeks 

9 of unemployment beginning on or after the date of enact10 ment of this subsection, the term ‘rate of insured unem11 ployment’, as used in section 203(d) of the Federal-State 

12 Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 

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

14 under section 203(e)(1) of such Act, except that individ15 uals exhausting their right to regular compensation during 

16 the most recent 3 calendar months for which data are 

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

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

19 were individuals filing claims for regular compensation for 

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

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

22 applied by substituting ‘either (or both)’ for ‘each’.’’. 

23 (b) ADDITIONAL EXTENDED BENEFIT PERIOD TRIG24 GER.—

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

26 by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL EXTENDED BENEFIT PERIOD

2 TRIGGER.—

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

4 to compensation for weeks of unemployment be5 ginning on or after the date of enactment of 

6 this paragraph, an agreement under this title 

7 shall provide that, in addition to any other ex8 tended benefit period trigger, for purposes of 

9 beginning or ending any extended benefit period 

10 under this section—

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

12 a week if—

13 ‘‘(I) the average rate of total un14 employment in such State (seasonally 

15 adjusted) for the period consisting of 

16 the most recent 3 months for which 

17 data for all States are published be18 fore the close of such week equals or 

19 exceeds 6 percent; and 

20 ‘‘(II) the average rate of total 

21 unemployment in such State (season22 ally adjusted) for the 3-month period 

23 referred to in subclause (I) equals or 

24 exceeds 110 percent of such average 

25 rate for the corresponding 3-month 
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1 period ending in either (or both) of 

2 the preceding 2 calendar years; and 

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

4 a week if either the requirements of sub5 clause (I) or (II) of clause (i) are not satis6 fied. 

7 ‘‘(B) NO EFFECT ON OTHER DETERMINA8 TIONS.—Notwithstanding the provisions of any 

9 agreement described in subparagraph (A), any 

10 week for which there would otherwise be a 

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

12 week and shall not be determined to be a week 

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

14 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATIONS MADE BY THE

15 SECRETARY.—For purposes of this subsection, 

16 determinations of the rate of total unemploy17 ment in any State for any period (and of any 

18 seasonal adjustment) shall be made by the Sec19 retary.’’. 

20 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

21 203(c)(1) is amended by inserting ‘‘or (3)’’ after 

22 ‘‘paragraph (2)’’.

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