II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 904 

To improve jobs, opportunity, benefits, and services for unemployed 

Americans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 5, 2011 

Mr. HATCH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To improve jobs, opportunity, benefits, and services for 

unemployed Americans, 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 ‘‘Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits, and Services Act of 2011’’ 

6 or the ‘‘JOBS Act of 2011’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—REFORMS OF UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION TO 

PROMOTE WORK AND JOB CREATION 


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Sec. 101. Consistent job search requirements. 

Sec. 102. Participation in reemployment services made a condition of benefit 

receipt. 

Sec. 103. State flexibility to promote the reemployment of unemployed workers. 

Sec. 104. Repeal of regulation requiring higher State taxes. 

Sec. 105. Restore State flexibility to improve unemployment program solvency. 

Sec. 106. Uniform data elements for improved data matching. 

Sec. 107. Technical and conforming amendments. 

TITLE II—FORWARD FUNDING OF REMAINING FEDERAL 

UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION FUNDS 

Sec. 201. Special transfers to all States. 

Sec. 202. Emergency unemployment compensation transition rules. 

Sec. 203. Extended benefits program transition rules. 

Sec. 204. Emergency designation. 

1 TITLE I—REFORMS OF UNEM2 PLOYMENT COMPENSATION 

3 TO PROMOTE WORK AND JOB 

4 CREATION 

5 SEC. 101. CONSISTENT JOB SEARCH REQUIREMENTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(a) of the Social Secu7 rity Act is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(11)(A) A requirement that, as a condition of 

9 eligibility for regular compensation for any week, a 

10 claimant must be able to work, available to work, 

11 and actively seeking work. 

12 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term 

13 ‘actively seeking work’ means, with respect to any 

14 individual, that such individual is actively engaged in 

15 a systematic and sustained effort to obtain work, as 

16 determined based on evidence (whether in electronic 

17 format or otherwise) satisfactory to the State agency 

18 charged with the administration of the State law. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The specific requirements that must be 

2 met in order to satisfy this paragraph shall be estab3 lished by the State agency, and shall include at least 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(i) Registration for employment services 

6 within 14 days after making initial application 

7 for regular compensation. 

8 ‘‘(ii) Posting a resume, record, or other ap9 plication for employment on such database as 

10 the State agency may require. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Applying, in such manner as the 

12 State agency may require, for work which is 

13 similar to that previously performed by the indi14 vidual, and which offers wages comparable to 

15 wages for similar work in the local labor market 

16 in which the individual resides or is actively 

17 seeking work.’’. 

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

19 subsection (a) shall apply to weeks beginning after Sep20 tember 30, 2011. 

21 SEC. 102. PARTICIPATION IN REEMPLOYMENT SERVICES 

22 MADE A CONDITION OF BENEFIT RECEIPT. 

23 (a) SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Paragraph (10) of sec24 tion 303(a) of the Social Security Act is amended to read 

25 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(10)(A) A requirement that, as a condition of 

2 eligibility for regular compensation for any week— 

3 ‘‘(i) a claimant shall meet the minimum 

4 educational requirements set forth in subpara5 graph (B); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) any claimant who has been referred to 

7 reemployment services shall participate in such 

8 services. 

9 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph, an indi10 vidual shall not be considered to have met the min11 imum educational requirements of this subparagraph 

12 unless such individual— 

13 ‘‘(i) has earned a high school diploma; 

14 ‘‘(ii) has earned the General Educational 

15 Development (GED) credential or other State16 recognized equivalent (including by meeting rec17 ognized alternative standards for individuals 

18 with disabilities); or 

19 ‘‘(iii) is enrolled and making satisfactory 

20 progress in classes leading to satisfaction of 

21 clause (ii). 

22 ‘‘(C) The requirements of subparagraph (B) 

23 may be waived for an individual to the extent that 

24 the State agency charged with the administration of 


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1 the State law deems such requirements to be unduly 

2 burdensome in the case of such individual.’’. 

3 (b) INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.—Para4 graph (8) of section 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code 

5 of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(8) compensation shall not be denied to an in7 dividual for any week in which the individual is en8 rolled and making satisfactory progress in education 

9 or training which has been previously approved by 

10 the State agency;’’. 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

12 this section shall apply to weeks beginning after Sep13 tember 30, 2011. 

14 SEC. 103. STATE FLEXIBILITY TO PROMOTE THE REEM15 PLOYMENT OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Social Security 

17 Act (42 U.S.C. 501 and following) is amended by adding 

18 at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS

20 ‘‘SEC. 305. (a) The Secretary of Labor may enter 

21 into agreements, with States submitting an application de22 scribed in subsection (b), for the purpose of allowing such 

23 States to conduct demonstration projects to test and 

24 evaluate measures designed— 

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1 ment compensation under the State law of such 

2 State; or 

3 ‘‘(2) to improve the effectiveness of a State in 

4 carrying out its State law with respect to reemploy5 ment. 

6 ‘‘(b) The Governor of any State desiring to conduct 

7 a demonstration project under this section shall submit 

8 an application to the Secretary of Labor. Any such appli9 cation shall, at a minimum, include— 

10 ‘‘(1) a general description of the proposed dem11 onstration project, including the authority (under 

12 the laws of the State) for the measures to be tested, 

13 as well as the period of time during which such dem14 onstration project would be conducted; 

15 ‘‘(2) if a waiver under subsection (c) is re16 quested, the specific aspects of the project to which 

17 the waiver would apply and the reasons why such 

18 waiver is needed; 

19 ‘‘(3) a description of the goals and the expected 

20 programmatic outcomes of the demonstration 

21 project, including how the project would contribute 

22 to the objective described in subsection (a)(1), sub23 section (a)(2), or both; 

24 ‘‘(4) assurances (accompanied by supporting 

25 analysis) that the demonstration project would not 


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1 result in any increased net costs to the State’s ac2 count in the Unemployment Trust Fund; 

3 ‘‘(5) a description of the manner in which the 

4 State— 

5 ‘‘(A) will conduct an impact evaluation, 

6 using a control or comparison group or other 

7 valid methodology, of the demonstration project; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) will determine the extent to which the 

10 goals and outcomes described in paragraph (3) 

11 were achieved; and 

12 ‘‘(6) assurances that the State will provide any 

13 reports relating to the demonstration project, after 

14 its approval, as the Secretary of Labor may require. 

15 ‘‘(c) The Secretary of Labor may waive any of the 

16 requirements of section 3304(a)(4) of the Internal Rev17 enue Code of 1986 or of paragraph (1) or (5) of section 

18 303(a), to the extent and for the period the Secretary of 

19 Labor considers necessary to enable the State to carry out 

20 a demonstration project under this section. 

21 ‘‘(d) A demonstration project under this section— 

22 ‘‘(1) may be commenced any time after the date 

23 of the enactment of this section; and 

24 ‘‘(2) may not be approved for a period of time 

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1 quest of the Governor of the State involved for such 

2 additional period as the Secretary of Labor may 

3 agree to, except that in no event may a demonstra4 tion project under this section be conducted after 

5 the end of the 5-year period beginning on the date 

6 of the enactment of this section. 

7 ‘‘(e) The Secretary of Labor shall, in the case of any 

8 State for which an application is submitted under sub9 section (b)— 

10 ‘‘(1) notify the State as to whether such appli11 cation has been approved or denied within 30 days 

12 after receipt of a complete application; and 

13 ‘‘(2) provide public notice of the decision within 

14 10 days after providing notification to the State in 

15 accordance with paragraph (1). 

16 Public notice under paragraph (2) may be provided 

17 through the Internet or other appropriate means. Any ap18 plication under this section that has not been denied with19 in such 30 days shall be deemed approved. 

20 ‘‘(f) The Secretary of Labor may terminate a dem21 onstration project under this section if the Secretary 

22 makes a final determination that the State has violated 

23 the substantive terms or conditions of the project.’’. 


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

2 this section shall apply to weeks beginning after Sep3 tember 30, 2011. 

4 SEC. 104. REPEAL OF REGULATION REQUIRING HIGHER 

5 STATE TAXES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1202(b)(2) of the Social 

7 Security Act is amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘and’’ at 

9 the end; 

10 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘, and’’ 

11 and inserting a period; and 

12 (3) by striking subparagraph (C). 

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

14 subsection (a) shall take effect as of the date of enactment 

15 of this Act. 

16 SEC. 105. RESTORE STATE FLEXIBILITY TO IMPROVE UN17 EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM SOLVENCY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (g) of section 4001 of 

19 the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 

20 110–252; 26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is repealed. 

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

22 subsection (a) shall take effect as of the date of enactment 

23 of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 106. UNIFORM DATA ELEMENTS FOR IMPROVED DATA 

2 MATCHING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IX of the Social Security Act 

4 is amended by adding the following: 

5 ‘‘UNIFORM DATA ELEMENTS FOR IMPROVED DATA

6 MATCHING

7 ‘‘SEC. 911. (a) CODES AND IDENTIFIERS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of Labor, in consultation 

9 with an interagency work group through the Office 

10 of Management and Budget, and includes State per11 spectives, shall, by rule, designate codes and identi12 fiers for any category of information required under 

13 title III or this title. 

14 ‘‘(2) The codes and identifiers designated under 

15 paragraph (1) shall, to the extent practicable, be 

16 nonproprietary and interoperable. 

17 ‘‘(3) In designating codes and identifiers under 

18 this subsection, the Secretary of Labor shall, to the 

19 extent practicable, incorporate— 

20 ‘‘(A) interoperable standards developed 

21 and maintained by an international voluntary 

22 consensus standards body, as defined by the Of23 fice of Management and Budget, such as the 

24 International Organization for Standardization; 

25 ‘‘(B) interoperable standards developed 

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1 ships, such as the National Information Ex2 change Model; and 

3 ‘‘(C) interoperable standards developed 

4 and maintained by Federal entities with author5 ity over contracting and financial assistance, 

6 such as the Federal Acquisition Regulations 

7 Council. 

8 ‘‘(b) DATA STANDARDS FOR REPORTING.— 

9 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of Labor, in consultation 

10 with an interagency work group through the Office 

11 of Management and Budget and State government 

12 perspectives, shall, by rule, designate data reporting 

13 standards to govern the reporting required under 

14 title III or this title. 

15 ‘‘(2) The data reporting standards required by 

16 paragraph (1) shall, to the extent practicable— 

17 ‘‘(A) incorporate a widely accepted, non18 proprietary, searchable, computer-readable for19 mat; 

20 ‘‘(B) be consistent with and implement ap21 plicable accounting principles; and 

22 ‘‘(C) be capable of being continually up23 graded as necessary. 

24 ‘‘(3) In designating reporting standards under 

25 this subsection, the Secretary of Labor shall, to the 


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1 extent practicable, incorporate existing nonpropri2 etary standards, such as the eXtensible Business Re3 porting Language.’’. 

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

5 of title IX of the Social Security Act is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

‘‘Sec. 911. Uniform data elements for improved data matching.’’. 

7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall apply to weeks beginning after Sep9 tember 30, 2012. 

10 SEC. 107. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

11 (a) USE OF UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION TO

12 REPAY OVERPAYMENTS.—Subparagraph (D) of section 

13 3304(a)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’. 

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

16 subsection (a) shall apply to amounts paid after Sep17 tember 30, 2011. 

18 TITLE II—FORWARD FUNDING 

19 OF REMAINING FEDERAL UN20 EMPLOYMENT COMPENSA21 TION FUNDS 

22 SEC. 201. SPECIAL TRANSFERS TO ALL STATES. 

23 (a) SPECIAL TRANSFERS IN FISCAL YEARS 2011 

24 AND 2012.—Section 903 of the Social Security Act is 

25 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘Special Transfers in Fiscal Years 2011 and 2012 

2 ‘‘(h)(1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer 

3 (as of the dates determined under paragraph (4)) from 

4 the extended unemployment compensation account to the 

5 account of each State in the Unemployment Trust Fund 

6 the amount determined with respect to such State under 

7 paragraph (2). 

8 ‘‘(2)(A) The amount to be transferred to a State 

9 under this subsection in any fiscal year is the amount de10 rived by multiplying the applicable total dollar amount for 

11 such fiscal year by the applicable fraction for such State. 

12 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the applica13 ble total dollar amount is— 

14 ‘‘(i) for fiscal year 2011, $12,800,000,000; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) for fiscal year 2012, $18,200,000,000. 

16 ‘‘(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the applica17 ble fraction for a State is a fraction— 

18 ‘‘(i) the numerator of which is the total amount 

19 of extended compensation and emergency unemploy20 ment compensation paid out by such State for weeks 

21 beginning in the 12-month period described in clause 

22 (ii); and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the denominator of which is the total 

24 amount of extended compensation and emergency 

25 unemployment compensation paid out by all States 


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1 for weeks beginning in the most recent 12-month pe2 riod for which that information is available for all 

3 States as of May 1, 2011. 

4 ‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) and 

5 only if a State passes a law after the enactment of the 

6 JOBS Act of 2011, amounts transferred to a State ac7 count pursuant to this subsection shall be used only in 

8 the payment of unemployment compensation, in accord9 ance with applicable provisions of Federal and State law 

10 (including agreements and implementing regulations) as 

11 in effect on May 1, 2011. 

12 ‘‘(B) A State may, pursuant to specific legislation en13 acted by the legislative body of the State after the date 

14 of the enactment of the JOBS Act of 2011, use money 

15 transferred to the State account of such State under this 

16 subsection for (i) the payment of unemployment com17 pensation, (ii) the repayment of advances made to such 

18 State under section 1201 (including interest thereon), and 

19 (iii) reemployment services designed to enhance the rapid 

20 reemployment of unemployed workers (such as mandatory 

21 workshops, claimant assessments, resume preparation and 

22 job search assistance, wage subsidy programs, eligibility 

23 reviews, labor market information, development of a work24 search plan, and training), if and only if— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the purposes and amounts are specified in 

2 the law; 

3 ‘‘(II) the money is withdrawn and expended, for 

4 the purpose described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) (as 

5 the case may be), after the date of enactment of the 

6 law; and 

7 ‘‘(III) the use of the money is accounted for in 

8 accordance with standards established by the Sec9 retary of Labor. 

10 ‘‘(4) Transfers under this subsection shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) to the extent that they relate to the 

12 amount set forth in paragraph (2)(B)(i), be made 

13 within 10 days after the date of enactment of this 

14 subsection; and 

15 ‘‘(B) to the extent that they relate to the 

16 amount set forth in paragraph (2)(B)(ii), be made 

17 after September 30, 2011, and on or before October 

18 10, 2011.’’. 

19 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in section 

20 903(b) of the Social Security Act shall be considered to 

21 apply with respect to any transfer under section 903(h) 

22 of such Act (as amended by this section). 

23 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Labor may 

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1 essary to carry out this section and the amendment made 

2 by this section. 

3 SEC. 202. EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION 

4 TRANSITION RULES. 

5 (a) REPEAL.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4003 of the Supple7 mental Appropriations Act, 2008 is repealed. 

8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

9 by paragraph (1) shall be effective with respect to 

10 weeks ending after July 6, 2011. 

11 (b) FINANCING.—Section 4004(e)(1) of the Supple12 mental Appropriations Act, 2008 is amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

14 after the semicolon; and 

15 (2) by adding after subparagraph (G) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(H) the amendment made by section 201 

18 of the Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits, and Services 

19 Act of 2011; and’’. 

20 SEC. 203. EXTENDED BENEFITS PROGRAM TRANSITION 

21 RULES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2005 of the Assistance for 

23 Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act, as 

24 contained in Public Law 111–5 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note), 

25 is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘January 4, 

2 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘July 6, 2011’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘January 4, 

4 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of enactment of the 

5 JOBS Act of 2011’’; and 

6 (3) by striking subsection (c). 

7 (b) TERMINATION OF PROVISION RELATING TO TEM8 PORARY MODIFICATION OF EXTENDED BENEFIT INDICA9 TORS.—Section 502 of the Tax Relief, Unemployment In10 surance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 

11 (Public Law 111–312; 26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is amended 

12 by striking ‘‘December 31, 2011’’ each place it appears 

13 and inserting ‘‘June 30, 2011’’. 

14 SEC. 204. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION. 

15 The budgetary effects of this Act are designated as 

16 an emergency requirement and necessary to meet emer17 gency needs pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay18 As-You-Go Act of 2010. 

Æ 


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