II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4378 

To provide for a short-term extension of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment 

Compensation program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 30, 2020 

Mr. ROMNEY (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, and Ms. MCSALLY) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To provide for a short-term extension of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Exten6 sion Act of 2020’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Improvements to Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation to 

better match lost wages. 


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Sec. 3. Supplemental emergency unemployment relief for governmental entities 

and nonprofit organizations. 

Sec. 4. Conforming eligibility for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance to disaster unemployment assistance and accelerating appeal review. 

Sec. 5. Improvements to State unemployment systems and strengthening program integrity. 

Sec. 6. Emergency designation. 

1 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO FEDERAL PANDEMIC UNEM2 PLOYMENT COMPENSATION TO BETTER 

3 MATCH LOST WAGES. 

4 (a) EXTENSION.—Section 2104(e)(2) of the Relief 

5 for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained in 

6 subtitle A of title II of division A of the CARES Act (Pub7 lic Law 116–136)) is amended by striking ‘‘July 31, 

8 2020’’ and inserting ‘‘November 1, 2020’’. 

9 (b) IMPROVEMENTS TO ACCURACY OF PAYMENTS.— 

10 (1) FEDERAL PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT COM11 PENSATION.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 2104(b) of the 

13 Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act 

14 (contained in subtitle A of title II of division A 

15 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136)) is 

16 amended— 

17 (i) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking 

18 ‘‘of $600’’ and inserting ‘‘equal to the 

19 amount specified in paragraph (3)’’; and 

20 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

21 new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF FEDERAL PANDEMIC UNEM2 PLOYMENT COMPENSATION.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount specified 

4 in this paragraph is the following amount with 

5 respect to an individual: 

6 ‘‘(i) For weeks of unemployment be7 ginning after the date on which an agree8 ment is entered into under this section and 

9 ending on or before July 31, 2020, $600. 

10 ‘‘(ii) For weeks of unemployment be11 ginning after the last week under clause (i) 

12 and ending on or before August 31, 2020, 

13 an amount equal to one of the following, as 

14 determined by the State for all individuals: 

15 ‘‘(I) $500. 

16 ‘‘(II) An amount (not to exceed 

17 $500) equal to— 

18 ‘‘(aa) 80 percent of the indi19 vidual’s average weekly wages; 

20 minus 

21 ‘‘(bb) the individual’s base 

22 amount (determined prior to any 

23 reductions or offsets). 

24 ‘‘(iii) For weeks of unemployment be25 ginning after the last week under clause 


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1 (ii) and ending on or before September 28, 

2 2020, an amount equal to one of the fol3 lowing, as determined by the State for all 

4 individuals: 

5 ‘‘(I) $400. 

6 ‘‘(II) The amount determined 

7 under clause (ii)(II). 

8 ‘‘(iv) For weeks of unemployment be9 ginning after the last week under clause 

10 (iii) and ending on or before November 2, 

11 2020, an amount equal to one of the fol12 lowing, as determined by the State for all 

13 individuals: 

14 ‘‘(I) $300. 

15 ‘‘(II) The amount determined 

16 under clause (ii)(II). 

17 ‘‘(B) BASE AMOUNT.—For purposes of this 

18 paragraph, the term ‘base amount’ means, with 

19 respect to an individual, an amount equal to— 

20 ‘‘(i) for weeks of unemployment under 

21 the pandemic unemployment assistance 

22 program under section 2102, the amount 

23 determined under subsection (d)(1)(A)(i) 

24 or (d)(2) of such section 2102, as applica25 ble; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) for all other weeks of unemploy2 ment, the amount determined under para3 graph (1)(A) of this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(C) AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGES.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

6 (ii), for purposes of this paragraph, the 

7 term ‘average weekly wages’ means, with 

8 respect to an individual, the following: 

9 ‘‘(I) If the State computes the in10 dividual weekly unemployment com11 pensation benefit amount based on an 

12 individual’s average weekly wages in a 

13 base period, an amount equal to the 

14 individual’s average weekly wages 

15 used in such computation. 

16 ‘‘(II) If the State computes the 

17 individual weekly unemployment com18 pensation benefit amount based on 

19 high quarter wages or a formula using 

20 wages across some but not all quar21 ters in a base period, an amount equal 

to 1 22 ⁄13 of such high quarter wages or 

23 average wages of the applicable quar24 ters used in the computation for the 

25 individual. 


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1 ‘‘(III) If the State uses computa2 tions other than the computations 

3 under subclause (I) or (II) for the in4 dividual weekly unemployment com5 pensation benefit amount, or for com6 putations of the weekly benefit 

7 amount under the pandemic unem8 ployment assistance program under 

9 section 2102, as described in sub10 section (d)(1)(A)(i) or (d)(2) of such 

11 section 2102, for which subclause (I) 

12 or (II) do not apply, an amount equal 

to 1 13 ⁄52 of the sum of all base period 

14 wages. 

15 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—If more than 

16 one of the methods of computation under 

17 subclauses (I), (II), and (III) of clause (i) 

18 are applicable to a State, then such term 

19 shall mean the amount determined under 

20 the applicable subclause of clause (i) that 

21 results in the highest amount of average 

22 weekly wages.’’. 

23 (B) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT REGARDING

24 APPLICATION TO SHORT-TIME COMPENSATION

25 PROGRAMS AND AGREEMENTS.—Section 


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1 2104(i)(2) of the Relief for Workers Affected 

2 by Coronavirus Act (contained in subtitle A of 

3 title II of division A of the CARES Act (Public 

4 Law 116–136)) is amended— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

6 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

8 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

9 and’’; and 

10 (iii) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(E) short-time compensation under sec13 tion 2108 or 2109.’’. 

14 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

15 (A) PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT ASSIST16 ANCE.—Section 2102(d) of the Relief for Work17 ers Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained in 

18 subtitle A of title II of division A of the 

19 CARES Act (Public Law 116–136)) is amended 

20 by inserting ‘‘with respect to the individual’’ 

21 after ‘‘section 2104’’ in each of paragraphs 

22 (1)(A)(ii) and (2). 

23 (B) PANDEMIC EMERGENCY UNEMPLOY24 MENT COMPENSATION.—Section 2107 of the 

25 Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act 


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1 (contained in subtitle A of title II of division A 

2 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136)) is 

3 amended— 

4 (i) in subsection (a)(4)(A)(ii), by in5 serting ‘‘with respect to the individual’’ 

6 after ‘‘section 2104’’; and 

7 (ii) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting 

8 ‘‘with respect to the individual’’ after ‘‘sec9 tion 2104’’. 

10 (c) CONSISTENT TREATMENT OF EARNINGS AND UN11 EMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.—Section 2104(h) of the 

12 Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained 

13 in subtitle A of title II of division A of the CARES Act 

14 (Public Law 116–136)) is amended by adding at the end 

15 the following new sentence: ‘‘The preceding sentence shall 

16 not apply to any Federal Pandemic Unemployment Com17 pensation paid to an individual with respect to a week of 

18 unemployment ending on or after October 5, 2020.’’. 

19 (d) REQUIREMENT FOR RETURN TO WORK NOTIFI20 CATION AND REPORTING.—Section 2104(b) of the Relief 

21 for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained in 

22 subtitle A of title II of division A of the CARES Act (Pub23 lic Law 116–136)) is amended by adding at the end the 

24 following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(3) Beginning 30 days after the date of enact2 ment of this paragraph, any agreement under this 

3 section shall require that the State has in place a 

4 process to address refusal to return to work or re5 fusal of suitable work that includes the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) Providing a plain-language notice to 

7 individuals at the time of applying for benefits 

8 regarding State law provisions relating to each 

9 of the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) Return to work requirements. 

11 ‘‘(ii) Rights to refuse to return to 

12 work or to refuse suitable work. 

13 ‘‘(iii) How to contest the denial of a 

14 claim that has been denied due to a claim 

15 by an employer that the individual refused 

16 to return to work or refused suitable work. 

17 ‘‘(B) Providing a plain-language notice to 

18 employers through any system used by employ19 ers or any regular correspondence sent to em20 ployers regarding how to notify the State if an 

21 individual refuses to return to work. 

22 ‘‘(C) Other items determined appropriate 

23 by the Secretary of Labor.’’. 

24 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

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1 section (d)) shall take effect as if included in the enact2 ment of the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus 

3 Act (contained in subtitle A of title II of division A of 

4 the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136)). 

5 SEC. 3. SUPPLEMENTAL EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT RE6 LIEF FOR GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES AND 

7 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 903(i)(1)(B) of the Social 

9 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1103(i)(1)(B)) is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘one-half’’ and inserting ‘‘75 percent’’. 

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

12 subsection (a) shall take effect as if included in the enact13 ment of the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus 

14 Act (contained in subtitle A of title II of division A of 

15 the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136)). 

16 SEC. 4. CONFORMING ELIGIBILITY FOR PANDEMIC UNEM17 PLOYMENT ASSISTANCE TO DISASTER UNEM18 PLOYMENT ASSISTANCE AND ACCELERATING 

19 APPEAL REVIEW. 

20 (a) CONFIRMATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR PANDEMIC

21 UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.—Section 2102(a) of the 

22 Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained 

23 in subtitle A of title II of division A of the CARES Act 

24 (Public Law 116–136)) is amended— 

25 (1) in paragraph (3)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

2 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

3 the end; and 

4 (ii) by inserting after clause (ii) the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(iii) provides documentation substan7 tiating employment or self-employment or 

8 the planned commencement of employment 

9 or self-employment not later than 21 days 

10 after the date on which the individual sub11 mits an application for assistance under 

12 this section or is directed by the State 

13 Agency to submit such documentation or 

14 has shown good cause under the applicable 

15 State law for failing to submit such docu16 mentation by the deadline, in accordance 

17 with section 625.6(e) of title 20, Code of 

18 Federal Regulations, or any successor 

19 thereto, except that such documentation 

20 shall not be required if the individual pre21 viously submitted such information to the 

22 State agency for the purpose of obtaining 

23 regular or other unemployment compensa24 tion; and’’; and 

25 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 


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1 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking the pe4 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

5 (iii) by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(iii) in accordance with section 

8 625.6(e)(2) of title 20, Code of Federal 

9 Regulations, or any successor thereto, an 

10 individual who does not provide docu11 mentation substantiating employment or 

12 self-employment or the planned commence13 ment of employment or self-employment 

14 under subparagraph (A)(iii).’’; 

15 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 

16 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and 

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(4) DOCUMENTATION SUBSTANTIATING EM20 PLOYMENT OR SELF-EMPLOYMENT OR THE

21 PLANNED COMMENCEMENT OF EMPLOYMENT OR

22 SELF-EMPLOYMENT.—The term ‘documentation sub23 stantiating employment or self-employment or the 

24 planned commencement of employment or self-em25 ployment’ means documentation provided by the inVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4378.IS S4378

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1 dividual substantiating employment or self-employ2 ment and wages earned or paid for such employment 

3 or self-employment, or such information related to 

4 the planned commencement of employment or self5 employment.’’. 

6 (b) APPLICABILITY.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 30 

8 days after the date of enactment of this Act, each 

9 State shall require that documentation substan10 tiating employment or self-employment or the 

11 planned commencement of employment or self-em12 ployment (as defined in section 2102 of the Relief 

13 for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained 

14 in subtitle A of title II of division A of the CARES 

15 Act (Public Law 116–136))) be submitted by any in16 dividual who applies for pandemic unemployment as17 sistance under section 2102 of the Relief for Work18 ers Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained in sub19 title A of title II of division A of the CARES Act 

20 (Public Law 116–136)) on or after the date of en21 actment of this Act. 

22 (2) PRIOR APPLICANTS.—Any individual who 

23 applied for pandemic unemployment assistance 

24 under section 2102 of the Relief for Workers Af25 fected by Coronavirus Act (contained in subtitle A of 


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1 title II of division A of the CARES Act (Public Law 

2 116–136)) before the date of enactment of this Act 

3 and receives such assistance on or after the date of 

4 enactment of this Act shall submit documentation 

5 substantiating employment or self-employment or 

6 the planned commencement of employment or self7 employment (as defined in such section 2102) not 

8 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 

9 this Act or the individual will be ineligible to receive 

10 pandemic unemployment assistance under such sec11 tion 2102. 

12 (c) CONFORMING ELIGIBILITY FOR PANDEMIC UN13 EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE TO DISASTER UNEMPLOY14 MENT ASSISTANCE.—Section 2102(a)(3)(A) of the Relief 

15 for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained in 

16 subtitle A of title II of division A of the CARES Act (Pub17 lic Law 116–136)), as amended by subsection (a), is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in clause (ii)— 

20 (A) in subclause (I), in the matter pre21 ceding item (aa), by inserting ‘‘in the employ22 ment or service described in clause (iv)’’ after 

23 ‘‘unavailable to work’’; and 

24 (B) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

25 the end; and 


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1 (2) by inserting after clause (iii), as added by 

2 subsection (a), the following: 

3 ‘‘(iv) provides self-certification that 

4 the principal source of income and liveli5 hood of the individual are dependent upon 

6 the individual’s employment for wages or 

7 the individual’s performance of service in 

8 self-employment; and’’. 

9 (d) PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE AP10 PEALS.— 

11 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 2102 of the Relief 

12 for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained 

13 in subtitle A of title II of division A of the CARES 

14 Act (Public Law 116–136)) is amended by adding at 

15 the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(i) APPEALS BY AN INDIVIDUAL FILED IN THE 50 

17 STATES, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, COMMONWEALTH OF

18 PUERTO RICO, AND VIRGIN ISLANDS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual may appeal 

20 any determination or redetermination regarding the 

21 rights to pandemic unemployment assistance under 

22 this section made by the State agency of a State, the 

23 District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 

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1 section as ‘applicable States’). Such an appeal shall 

2 be made in accordance with the applicable State law. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—All levels of an appeal 

4 under paragraph (1) shall be— 

5 ‘‘(A) carried out by the applicable State 

6 that made the determination or redetermina7 tion; and 

8 ‘‘(B) conducted in the same manner and to 

9 the same extent as the applicable State would 

10 conduct appeals of determinations or redeter11 minations regarding rights to compensation 

12 under State law.’’. 

13 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

14 by paragraph (1) shall take effect as if included in 

15 the enactment of the Relief for Workers Affected by 

16 Coronavirus Act (contained in subtitle A of title II 

17 of division A of the CARES Act (Public Law 116– 

18 136)). 

19 (3) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by 

20 paragraph (1) shall not affect any decision regarding 

21 the rights to pandemic unemployment assistance 

22 under section 2102 of the Relief for Workers Af23 fected by Coronavirus Act (contained in subtitle A of 

24 title II of division A of the CARES Act (Public Law 


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1 116–136)) issued on appeal or review before the 

2 date of enactment of this Act. 

3 (e) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 2102(h) of 

4 the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (con5 tained in subtitle A of title II of division A of the CARES 

6 Act (Public Law 116–136)) is amended by striking ‘‘sec7 tion 625’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘part 625’’. 

8 SEC. 5. IMPROVEMENTS TO STATE UNEMPLOYMENT SYS9 TEMS AND STRENGTHENING PROGRAM IN10 TEGRITY. 

11 (a) UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION SYSTEMS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(a) of the Social 

13 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503(a)) is amended— 

14 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

15 by striking ‘‘provision for—’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘provision for each of the following:’’; 

17 (B) at the end of each of paragraphs (1) 

18 through (10) and paragraph (11)(B), by strik19 ing ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a period; and 

20 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

21 paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(13) The State system shall, in addition to 

23 meeting the requirements under section 1137, meet 

24 the following requirements: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The system shall be capable of han2 dling a surge of claims that would represent a 

3 twentyfold increase in claims from January 

4 2020 levels, occurring over a one-month period. 

5 ‘‘(B) The system shall be capable of— 

6 ‘‘(i) adjusting wage replacement levels 

7 for individuals receiving unemployment 

8 compensation; 

9 ‘‘(ii) adjusting weekly earnings dis10 regards, including the ability to adjust 

11 such disregards in relation to an individ12 ual’s earnings or weekly benefit amount; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(iii) providing for wage replacement 

15 levels that vary based on the duration of 

16 benefit receipt. 

17 ‘‘(C) The system shall have in place an 

18 automated process for receiving and processing 

19 claims for disaster unemployment assistance 

20 under section 410(a) of the Robert T. Stafford 

21 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

22 (42 U.S.C. 5177(a)), with flexibility to adapt 

23 rules regarding individuals eligible for assist24 ance and the amount payable. 


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1 ‘‘(D) In the case of a State that makes 

2 payments of short-time compensation under a 

3 short-time compensation program (as defined in 

4 section 3306(v) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

5 1986), the system shall have in place an auto6 mated process of receiving and processing 

7 claims for short-time compensation. 

8 ‘‘(E) The system shall have in place an 

9 automated process for receiving and processing 

10 claims for— 

11 ‘‘(i) unemployment compensation for 

12 Federal civilian employees under sub13 chapter I of chapter 85 of title 5, United 

14 States Code; 

15 ‘‘(ii) unemployment compensation for 

16 ex-servicemembers under subchapter II of 

17 chapter 85 of title 5, United States Code; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(iii) trade readjustment allowances 

20 under sections 231 through 233 of the 

21 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2291– 

22 2293).’’. 

23 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

24 by paragraph (1) shall apply to weeks of unemploy25 ment beginning on or after the earlier of— 


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1 (A) the date the State changes its statutes, 

2 regulations, or policies in order to comply with 

3 such amendment; or 

4 (B) October 1, 2023. 

5 (b) ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION OF UNEMPLOYMENT

6 COMPENSATION INFORMATION.—Section 303 of the So7 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503) is amended by adding 

8 at the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(n) ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION OF UNEMPLOY10 MENT COMPENSATION INFORMATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1, 

12 2022, the State agency charged with administration 

13 of the State law shall use a system developed (in 

14 consultation with stakeholders) and designated by 

15 the Secretary of Labor for automated electronic 

16 transmission of requests for information relating to 

17 unemployment compensation and the provision of 

18 such information between such agency and employ19 ers or their agents. 

20 ‘‘(2) USE OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.—The Sec21 retary of Labor may use funds appropriated for 

22 grants to States under this title to make payments 

23 on behalf of States as the Secretary determines is 

24 appropriate for the use of the system described in 

25 paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYER PARTICIPATION.—The Sec2 retary of Labor shall work with the State agency 

3 charged with administration of the State law to in4 crease the number of employers using this system 

5 and to resolve any technical challenges with the sys6 tem. 

7 ‘‘(4) REPORTS ON USE OF ELECTRONIC SYS8 TEM.—After the end of each fiscal year, on a date 

9 determined by the Secretary, each State shall report 

10 to the Secretary information on— 

11 ‘‘(A) the proportion of employers using the 

12 designated system described in paragraph (1); 

13 ‘‘(B) the reasons employers are not using 

14 such system; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the efforts the State is undertaking 

16 to increase employer’s use of such system. 

17 ‘‘(5) ENFORCEMENT.—Whenever the Secretary 

18 of Labor, after reasonable notice and opportunity for 

19 hearing to the State agency charged with the admin20 istration of the State law, finds that there is a fail21 ure to comply substantially with the requirements of 

22 paragraph (1), the Secretary of Labor shall notify 

23 such State agency that further payments will not be 

24 made to the State until the Secretary of Labor is 

25 satisfied that there is no longer any such failure. 


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1 Until the Secretary of Labor is so satisfied, such 

2 Secretary shall make no future certification to the 

3 Secretary of the Treasury with respect to the 

4 State.’’. 

5 (c) UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION INTEGRITY

6 DATA HUB.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(a) of the Social 

8 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503(a)), as amended by 

9 subsection (a), is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(14) The State agency charged with adminis12 tration of the State law shall use the system des13 ignated by the Secretary of Labor for cross-match14 ing claimants of unemployment compensation under 

15 State law against any databases in the system to 

16 prevent and detect fraud and improper payments.’’. 

17 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

18 by paragraph (1) shall apply to weeks of unemploy19 ment beginning on or after the earlier of— 

20 (A) the date the State changes its statutes, 

21 regulations, or policies in order to comply with 

22 such amendment; or 

23 (B) October 1, 2022. 

24 (d) REDUCING STATE BURDEN IN PROVIDING DATA

25 TO PREVENT AND DETECT FRAUD.—Section 303 of the 


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1 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503), as amended by sub2 section (b), is amended by adding at the end the following 

3 new subsection: 

4 ‘‘(o) USE OF UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS DATA TO

5 PREVENT AND DETECT FRAUD.—The Inspector General 

6 of the Department of Labor shall, for the purpose of iden7 tifying and investigating fraud in unemployment com8 pensation programs, have direct access to each of the fol9 lowing systems: 

10 ‘‘(1) The system designated by the Secretary of 

11 Labor for the electronic transmission of requests for 

12 information relating to interstate claims for unem13 ployment compensation. 

14 ‘‘(2) The system designated by the Secretary of 

15 Labor for cross-matching claimants of unemploy16 ment compensation under State law against data17 bases to prevent and detect fraud and improper pay18 ments (as referred to in subsection (a)(14)).’’. 

19 (e) USE OF NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES

20 IN ADMINISTRATION OF UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

21 PROGRAMS AND PENALTIES ON NONCOMPLYING EMPLOY22 ERS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Social 

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1 sections (b) and (d), is amended by adding at the 

2 end the following new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(p) USE OF NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW

4 HIRES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1, 

6 2022, the State agency charged with administration 

7 of the State law shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) compare information in the National 

9 Directory of New Hires established under sec10 tion 453(i) against information about individ11 uals claiming unemployment compensation to 

12 identify any such individuals who may have be13 come employed, in accordance with any regula14 tions or guidance that the Secretary of Health 

15 and Human Services may issue and consistent 

16 with the computer matching provisions of the 

17 Privacy Act of 1974; 

18 ‘‘(B) take timely action to verify whether 

19 the individuals identified pursuant to subpara20 graph (A) are employed; and 

21 ‘‘(C) upon verification pursuant to sub22 paragraph (B), take appropriate action to sus23 pend or modify unemployment compensation 

24 payments, and to initiate recovery of any imVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4378.IS S4378

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1 proper unemployment compensation payments 

2 that have been made. 

3 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.—Whenever the Secretary 

4 of Labor, after reasonable notice and opportunity for 

5 hearing to the State agency charged with the admin6 istration of the State law, finds that there is a fail7 ure to comply substantially with the requirements of 

8 paragraph (1), the Secretary of Labor shall notify 

9 such State agency that further payments will not be 

10 made to the State until the Secretary of Labor is 

11 satisfied that there is no longer any such failure. 

12 Until the Secretary of Labor is so satisfied, such 

13 Secretary shall make no future certification to the 

14 Secretary of the Treasury with respect to the 

15 State.’’. 

16 (2) PENALTIES.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 453A(d) of the 

18 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653a(d)), in the 

19 matter preceding paragraph (1), is amended by 

20 striking ‘‘have the option to set a State civil 

21 money penalty which shall not exceed’’ and in22 serting ‘‘set a State civil money penalty which 

23 shall be no less than’’. 


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1 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment 

2 made by subparagraph (A) shall apply to pen3 alties assessed on or after October 1, 2022. 

4 (f) STATE PERFORMANCE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Social 

6 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503), as amended by sub7 sections (b), (d), and (e), is amended by adding at 

8 the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(q) STATE PERFORMANCE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of assisting 

11 States in meeting the requirements of this title, title 

12 IX, title XII, or chapter 23 of the Internal Revenue 

13 Code of 1986 (commonly referred to as ‘the Federal 

14 Unemployment Tax Act’), the Secretary of Labor 

15 may— 

16 ‘‘(A) consistent with subsection (a)(1), es17 tablish measures of State performance, includ18 ing criteria for acceptable levels of performance, 

19 performance goals, and performance measure20 ment programs; 

21 ‘‘(B) consistent with subsection (a)(6), re22 quire States to provide to the Secretary of 

23 Labor data or other relevant information from 

24 time to time concerning the operations of the 

25 State or State performance, including the measVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Aug 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4378.IS S4378

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1 ures, criteria, goals, or programs established 

2 under paragraph (1); 

3 ‘‘(C) require States with sustained failure 

4 to meet acceptable levels of performance or with 

5 performance that is substantially below accept6 able standards, as determined based on the 

7 measures, criteria, goals, or programs estab8 lished under subparagraph (A), to implement 

9 specific corrective actions and use specified 

10 amounts of the administrative grants under this 

11 title provided to such States to improve per12 formance; and 

13 ‘‘(D) based on the data and other informa14 tion provided under subparagraph (B)— 

15 ‘‘(i) to the extent the Secretary of 

16 Labor determines funds are available after 

17 providing grants to States under this title 

18 for the administration of State laws, recog19 nize and make awards to States for per20 formance improvement, or performance ex21 ceeding the criteria or meeting the goals 

22 established under subparagraph (A); or 

23 ‘‘(ii) to the extent the Secretary of 

24 Labor determines funds are available after 

25 providing grants to States under this title 


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1 for the administration of State laws, pro2 vide incentive funds to high-performing 

3 States based on the measures, criteria, 

4 goals, or programs established under sub5 paragraph (A). 

6 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.—Whenever the Secretary 

7 of Labor, after reasonable notice and opportunity for 

8 hearing to the State agency charged with the admin9 istration of the State law, finds that there is a fail10 ure to comply substantially with the requirements of 

11 paragraph (1), the Secretary of Labor shall notify 

12 such State agency that further payments will not be 

13 made to the State until the Secretary of Labor is 

14 satisfied that there is no longer any such failure. 

15 Until the Secretary of Labor is so satisfied, such 

16 Secretary shall make no future certification to the 

17 Secretary of the Treasury with respect to the 

18 State.’’. 

19 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

20 by this subsection shall take effect on the date of en21 actment of this Act. 

22 (g) FUNDING.—Out of any money in the Treasury 

23 of the United States not otherwise appropriated, there are 

24 appropriated to the Secretary of Labor $2,000,000,000 to 

25 assist States in carrying out the amendments made by this 


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1 section, which may include regional or multi-State efforts. 

2 Amounts appropriated under the preceding sentence shall 

3 remain available until expended. 

4 SEC. 6. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The amounts provided by this Act 

6 and the amendments made by this Act are designated as 

7 an emergency requirement pursuant to section 4(g) of the 

8 Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 

9 (b) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the Senate, this 

10 Act and the amendments made by this Act are designated 

11 as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 4112(a) 

12 of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent reso13 lution on the budget for fiscal year 2018. 

Æ 


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