I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3141
To provide for a program of emergency unemployment compensation and
emergency health coverage assistance.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 16, 2001
Mr. KLECZKA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Edu-
cation and the Workforce and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned
A BILL
To provide for a program of emergency unemployment
compensation and emergency health coverage assistance.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘American Worker Assistance Act of 2001’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I—EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION
Sec. 101. Federal-State agreements.
Sec. 102. Emergency unemployment compensation account.
Sec. 103. Payments to States having agreements for the payment of emergency
unemployment compensation.
Sec. 104. Financing provisions.
Sec. 105. Fraud and overpayments.
Sec. 106. Definitions.
TITLE II—EMERGENCY HEALTH COVERAGE ASSISTANCE
Sec. 201. Premium assistance for COBRA continuation coverage.
Sec. 202. Optional temporary medicaid coverage for uninsured eligible employ-
ees.
TITLE 
I—EMERGENCY 
UNEM-
PLOYMENT COMPENSATION
SECTION 101. FEDERAL-STATE AGREEMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any State which desires to do so
may enter into and participate in an agreement under this
Act with the Secretary of Labor (hereinafter in this Act
referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’). Any State which is a party
to an agreement under this Act may, upon providing 30
days’ written notice to the Secretary, terminate such
agreement.
(b) PROVISIONS OF AGREEMENT.—Any agreement
under subsection (a) shall provide that the State agency
of the State will make payments of emergency unemploy-
ment compensation—
(1) to individuals who—
(A) have exhausted all rights to regular
compensation under the State law,
(B) have no rights to compensation (in-
cluding both regular compensation and ex-
tended compensation) with respect to a week
under such law or any other State unemploy-
ment compensation law or to compensation
under any other Federal law (and are not paid
or entitled to be paid any additional compensa-
tion under any State or Federal law), and
(C) are not receiving compensation with
respect to such week under the unemployment
compensation law of Canada, and
(2) for any week of unemployment which begins
in the individual’s period of eligibility (as defined in
section 106(b)).
(c) EXHAUSTION OF BENEFITS.—For purposes of
subsection (b)(1)(A), an individual shall be deemed to
have exhausted such individual’s rights to regular com-
pensation under a State law when—
(1) no payments of regular compensation can
be made under such law because such individual has
received all regular compensation available to such
individual based on employment or wages during
such individual’s base period, or
(2) such individual’s rights to such compensa-
tion have been terminated by reason of the expira-
tion of the benefit year with respect to which such
rights existed.
(d) WEEKLY BENEFIT AMOUNT.—For purposes of
any agreement under this Act—
(1) the amount of emergency unemployment
compensation which shall be payable to any indi-
vidual for any week of total unemployment shall be
equal to the amount of the regular compensation
(including dependents’ allowances) payable to such
individual during such individual’s benefit year
under the State law for a week of total unemploy-
ment,
(2) the terms and conditions of the State law
which apply to claims for extended compensation
and to the payment thereof shall apply to claims for
emergency unemployment compensation and the
payment thereof, except where inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act or with the regulations or op-
erating instructions of the Secretary promulgated to
carry out this Act, and
(3) the maximum amount of emergency unem-
ployment compensation payable to any individual for
whom an account is established under section 102
shall not exceed the amount established in such ac-
count for such individual.
(e) ELECTION
BY STATES.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of Federal law (and if State law permits),
the Governor of a State is authorized to and may elect
to trigger off an extended compensation period in order
to provide payment of emergency unemployment com-
pensation to individuals who have exhausted their rights
to regular compensation under State law. The preceding
sentence shall not be applicable with respect to any ex-
tended compensation period which begins after December
31, 2002, nor shall the special rule in section 203(b)(1)(B)
of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensa-
tion Act of 1970 (or the similar provision in any State
law) operate to preclude the beginning of an extended
compensation period after December 31, 2002, because of
the ending of an earlier extended compensation period
under the preceding sentence.
SEC. 102. EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION
ACCOUNT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any agreement under this Act
shall provide that the State will establish, for each eligible
individual who files an application for emergency unem-
ployment compensation, an emergency unemployment
compensation account with respect to such individual’s
benefit year.
(b) AMOUNT IN ACCOUNT.—