IB 

Union Calendar No. 18 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1759 

[Report No. 116–38] 

To amend title III of the Social Security Act to extend reemployment services 

and eligibility assessments to all claimants for unemployment compensation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2019 

Mrs. MURPHY (for herself, Mrs. WALORSKI, Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico, and Mr. LAHOOD) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Ways and Means 

APRIL 9, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. TAYLOR, and Mr. EVANS

APRIL 9, 2019 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 14, 2019] 


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•HR 1759 RH

A BILL 

To amend title III of the Social Security Act to extend 

reemployment services and eligibility assessments to all 

claimants for unemployment compensation, and for other 

purposes. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
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•HR 1759 RH

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 ‘‘Building on Reemploy5 ment Improvements to Deliver Good Employment for Work6 ers Act’’ or the ‘‘BRIDGE for Workers Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public 

10 Law 115-123) improved program accountability for 

11 effectively serving unemployed workers and made a 

12 significant new investment in reemployment services. 

13 (2) Research shows the longer workers are out of 

14 work, the harder it can be to maintain their skills, 

15 professional network, and stable home life. 

16 (3) Reemployment services give workers who 

17 might otherwise struggle to find new jobs the tools 

18 that they need to get back to work—such as individ19 ualized career counseling and job search help as well 

20 as local labor market information—and they can 

21 serve as an entry point to the workforce development 

22 system. 

23 (4) Reemployment services have been dem24 onstrated to reduce the number of weeks that program 

25 participants receive unemployment benefits by imVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1759.RH H1759

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1 proving their employment outcomes, including earn2 ings. 

3 (5) Unemployment benefits replace less than half 

4 of working income, on average, so workers who find 

5 new jobs quickly suffer less financial hardship. 

6 (6) Combining targeted reemployment services 

7 with unemployment benefits helps keep people at8 tached to the labor force who might otherwise become 

9 discouraged and drop out. 

10 (7) The Congressional Budget Office estimates 

11 that, over time, investments in reemployment services 

12 create savings for taxpayers and unemployment trust 

13 funds by reducing spending on unemployment bene14 fits. 

15 (8) Many different types of workers can benefit 

16 from reemployment services. Reemployment services 

17 should be used to shorten the duration of unemploy18 ment for workers even if they are not projected to 

19 fully exhaust their unemployment benefits. 

20 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR REEMPLOYMENT SERVICES. 

21 Section 306(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 506(a)) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘individuals referred to reem24 ployment services as described in section 303(j)’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘claimants for unemployment compensaVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1759.RH H1759

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•HR 1759 RH

1 tion, including claimants referred to reemployment 

2 services as described in section 303(j),’’; and 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘such individuals’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘such claimants’’. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to amend title 

III of the Social Security Act to extend reemployment 

services and eligibility assessments to all claimants for 

unemployment benefits, and for other purposes.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 18 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1759 

[Report No. 116–38] 

A BILL 

To amend title III of the Social Security Act to expensation, and for other purposes. ments to all claimants for unemployment com- tend reemployment services and eligibility assessAPRIL 9, 2019 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 

dered to be printed of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and orVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Apr 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H1759.RH H1759

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS