I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1458 
To modernize the technology for delivering unemployment compensation, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 1, 2021 
Mr. HORSFORD (for himself, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. 
BONAMICI, Ms. BOURDEAUX, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. COOPER, Mr. DEFA-
ZIO, Mr. EVANS, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. KEATING, Mrs. 
LEE of Nevada, Mr. LIEU, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. 
WATSON COLEMAN, and Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To modernize the technology for delivering unemployment 
compensation, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unemployment Insur-
ance Technology Modernization Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. MODERNIZATION OF TECHNOLOGY FOR DELIV-
ERING UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 
shall develop, operate, and maintain a modular set 
of technology capabilities to modernize the delivery 
of unemployment compensation (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘‘technology capabilities’’). 
(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of developing 
the technology capabilities are the following: 
(A) For such capabilities to be utilized for 
any Federal administrative function associated 
with the provision of unemployment compensa-
tion. 
(B) To provide States with modular, open 
system technology capabilities and shared serv-
ices to administer their unemployment com-
pensation programs. 
(3) CONSULTATION.—In developing, operating, 
and maintaining the technology capabilities under 
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 
(A) coordinate with the Administrator; and 
(B) consult, design, and conduct usability 
testing with— 
(i) current and former claimants; 
(ii) employers that participate in un-
employment compensation programs; 
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(iii) employees of State workforce 
agencies; 
(iv) experts in technology and user ex-
perience; 
(v) Federal administrators of unem-
ployment compensation; 
(vi) any other potential user of the 
technology capabilities; and 
(vii) subject matter experts as deemed 
appropriate by the Secretary. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The technology capabilities 
shall— 
(A) incorporate a modular open systems 
approach and include modular components for 
each function necessary to administer an unem-
ployment compensation program, including— 
(i) receiving, processing, and paying 
claims for unemployment compensation, in-
cluding disaster benefits; 
(ii) online claim filing; 
(iii) the determination of claimant eli-
gibility; 
(iv) the collection of unemployment 
taxes; 
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(v) the submission of employer wage 
records; 
(vi) the appeals and adjudication 
processes for claimants and employers; 
(vii) sharing relevant data among 
States and the Secretary; and 
(viii) any other functionality that ad-
dresses the issues and goals identified dur-
ing the pre-development study described in 
subsection (c)(1); 
(B) comply with best practices and stand-
ards for privacy and cybersecurity, including 
digital identity proofing services, identified in 
consultation with the Director of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 
and the Director of the Cybersecurity and In-
frastructure Security Agency (CISA); 
(C) prioritize end-to-end user experience 
for claimants, employers, and administrators of 
unemployment compensation programs; 
(D) include centralized Federal technology 
capabilities that allow for the storage, exposure, 
and exchange of data required by States to ad-
minister their unemployment compensation pro-
grams (with the respective States retaining pos-
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