Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2014

To provide for the extension of certain unemployment benefits, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2014 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Emergency unemployment compensation benefits expired at the end of 2013. (2) 1.3 million unemployed workers and their families immediately lost access to benefits. Thousands more unemployed workers are losing benefits each week. (3) Excluding title IV, which focuses on nutrition, the Agricultural Act of 2014, which has passed the House, generates savings to offset the cost of this Act. If savings are not sufficient, Congress will direct offsets from other legislation to fully offset this Act. (4) Consistent with the statutory pay-as-you-go scorecard and the spirit of House rules that allow savings from one bill to be counted in evaluating language in another paired bill, the savings generated by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (not including title IV) provide an offset for the benefits provided in this Act. 3. Extension of emergency unemployment compensation program (a) Extension Section 4007(a)(2) of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 ( Public Law 110–252 26 U.S.C. 3304 January 1, 2014 July 1, 2014 (b) Funding Section 4004(e)(1) of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 ( Public Law 110–252 26 U.S.C. 3304 (1) in subparagraph (I), by striking and (2) in subparagraph (J), by inserting and (3) by inserting after subparagraph (J) the following: (K) the amendments made by section 2(a) of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2014 . (c) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 ( Public Law 112–240 4. Temporary extension of extended benefit provisions (a) In general Section 2005 of the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act, as contained in Public Law 111–5 26 U.S.C. 3304 (1) by striking December 31, 2013 June 30, 2014 (2) in subsection (c), by striking June 30, 2014 December 31, 2014 (b) Extension of matching for states with no waiting week Section 5 of the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 ( Public Law 110–449 26 U.S.C. 3304 June 30, 2014 December 31, 2014 (c) Extension of modification of indicators under the extended benefit program Section 203 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 ( 26 U.S.C. 3304 (1) in subsection (d), by striking December 31, 2013 June 30, 2014 (2) in subsection (f)(2), by striking December 31, 2013 June 30, 2014 (d) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 ( Public Law 112–240 5. Extension of funding for reemployment services and reemployment and eligibility assessment activities (a) In general Section 4004(c)(2)(A) of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 ( Public Law 110–252 26 U.S.C. 3304 through fiscal year 2014 through the second quarter of 2015 (b) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 ( Public Law 112–240 6. Additional extended unemployment benefits under the railroad unemployment insurance act (a) Extension Section 2(c)(2)(D)(iii) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act ( 45 U.S.C. 352(c)(2)(D)(iii) (1) by striking June 30, 2013 December 31, 2013 (2) by striking December 31, 2013 June 30, 2014 (b) Clarification on authority To use funds Funds appropriated under either the first or second sentence of clause (iv) of section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act shall be available to cover the cost of additional extended unemployment benefits provided under such section 2(c)(2)(D) by reason of the amendments made by subsection (a) as well as to cover the cost of such benefits provided under such section 2(c)(2)(D), as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act. (c) Funding for administration Out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the Railroad Retirement Board $62,500 for administrative expenses associated with the payment of additional extended unemployment benefits provided under section 2(c)(2)(D) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act by reason of the amendments made by subsection (a), to remain available until expended. 7. Flexibility for unemployment program agreements (a) Flexibility (1) In general Subsection (g) of section 4001 of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 ( Public Law 110–252 26 U.S.C. 3304 (2) Effective date Paragraph (1) is effective with respect to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after December 29, 2013. (b) Permitting a subsequent agreement Nothing in such title IV shall preclude a State whose agreement under such title was terminated from entering into a subsequent agreement under such title on or after the date of the enactment of this Act if the State, taking into account the application of subsection (a), would otherwise meet the requirements for an agreement under such title.

Summary: Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2014 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008, (SSA, 2008) to extend emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) payments for eligible individuals to weeks of employment ending on or before July 1, 2014. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until June 30, 2014, requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and December 31, 2014, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA of 1970) against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.) Amends the FSEUCA of 1970 to postpone similarly from December 31, 2013, to June 30, 2014, termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula. Amends the SSA, 2008 to appropriate funds out of the employment security administration account through the second quarter of FY2015 to assist states in providing reemployment and eligibility assessment activities. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to extend through June 30, 2014, the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits. Makes a change in application of a certain requirement (nonreduction rule) to a state that has entered a federal-state EUC agreement, under which the federal government would reimburse the state's unemployment compensation agency making EUC payments to individuals who have exhausted all rights to regular unemployment compensation under state or federal law and meet specified other criteria. (Under the nonreduction rule such an agreement does not apply with respect to a state whose method for computing regular unemployment compensation under state law has been modified to make the average weekly unemployment compensation benefit paid on or after June 2, 2010, less than what would have been paid before June 2, 2010.) Declares that the nonreduction rule shall not apply to a state which has enacted a law before December 1, 2013, that, upon taking effect, would violate the nonreduction rule. Allows a state whose agreement was terminated, however, to enter into a subsequent federal-state EUC agreement on or after enactment of this Act if, taking into account this inapplicability of the nonreduction rule, it would otherwise meet the requirements for an EUC agreement. (Thus allows such a subsequent EUC agreement to permit payment of less than the average weekly unemployment compensation benefit paid on or after June 2, 2010.)