I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3495 
To support both workers and recovery by converting expanded Federal 
unemployment payments into signing bonuses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 25, 2021 
Mr. GALLAGHER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To support both workers and recovery by converting ex-
panded Federal unemployment payments into signing bo-
nuses. 
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 ‘‘National Signing 
Bonus Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. NATIONAL SIGNING BONUSES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2104(b) of the CARES 
Act (15 U.S.C. 9023(b)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para-
graph (5); and 
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(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(4) BACK-TO-WORK BONUSES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any agreement under 
this section may also provide that the State 
agency of the State may make up to 2 lump- 
sum payments (in this paragraph referred to as 
the ‘first lump-sum payment’ and the ‘second 
lump-sum payment’) to each individual who— 
‘‘(i) was eligible for Federal Pandemic 
Unemployment Compensation under para-
graph (1) for— 
‘‘(I) any week beginning after the 
date of enactment of the National 
Signing Bonus Act of 2021; and 
‘‘(II) at least the 8 weeks imme-
diately preceding the week under sub-
clause (I); 
‘‘(ii) is no longer eligible for Federal 
Pandemic Unemployment Compensation 
under paragraph (1) (as determined by the 
State), as a result of earnings due to com-
mencing employment with an employer by 
whom the individual has not been em-
ployed during the preceding 6 months; and 
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‘‘(i) FIRST QUALIFYING PERIOD.—For 
purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘first 
qualifying period’ means, with respect to 
an individual, a period— 
‘‘(I) beginning on the date the in-
dividual commenced employment as 
described in subparagraph (A)(ii); and 
‘‘(II) extending at least 4 con-
secutive weeks from such date. 
‘‘(ii) SECOND QUALIFYING PERIOD.— 
For purposes of this paragraph, the term 
‘second qualifying period’ means, with re-
spect to an individual, a period— 
‘‘(I) beginning on the date the in-
dividual commenced employment as 
described in subparagraph (A)(ii) 
(with the same employer with whom 
the individual qualified for the first 
lump-sum payment under this para-
graph); and 
‘‘(II) extending at least 8 con-
secutive weeks from such date. 
‘‘(D) DURATION.—A first or second lump- 
sum payment may not be made to any indi-
vidual under this paragraph with respect to a 
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first or second qualifying period beginning on 
or after July 4, 2021. 
‘‘(E) EMPLOYER VERIFICATION REQUIRED 
FOR
BOTH
LUMP-SUM
PAYMENTS.—Before 
making the first and second lump-sum payment 
to an individual pursuant to this paragraph, a 
State agency shall require verification from the 
individual’s employer— 
‘‘(i) of the individual’s employment 
status; 
‘‘(ii) of the wages paid to the indi-
vidual during the applicable qualifying pe-
riod; and 
‘‘(iii) of the hours worked by the indi-
vidual during the applicable qualifying pe-
riod. 
‘‘(F) LIMITATION.—A State may not pro-
vide more than one first lump-sum payment 
and one second lump-sum payment under this 
paragraph to an individual. 
‘‘(G) SPECIAL
RULE.—Payments made 
pursuant to an agreement under this paragraph 
shall not be considered to violate the withdrawal 
requirements of section 303(a)(5) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503(a)(5)) or section 
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3304(a)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 2104 of 
the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9023) is amended— 
(1) in subsections (d) and (f), by inserting ‘‘, 
payments under subsection (b)(4),’’ after ‘‘Federal 
Pandemic Unemployment Compensation’’ each place 
it appears; and 
(2) in subsection (g)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) the purposes of the preceding provisions of 
this section, as such provisions apply with respect to 
payments under subsection (b)(4), shall be applied 
with respect to unemployment benefits described in 
subsection (i)(2) to the same extent and in the same 
manner as if those benefits were regular compensa-
tion.’’. 
Æ 
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