Title: Strengthening Unemployment Insurance for Coronavirus Impacted Workers and Students Act
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Strengthening Unemployment Insurance for Coronavirus Impacted Workers and Students Act  This bill expands eligibility for pandemic unemployment assistance to include individuals with no recent attachment to the workforce (e.g., students), extends the availability of federal pandemic unemployment compensation, and provides federal pandemic unemployment compensation to individuals working reduced hours.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3619 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3619

  To amend title II of division A of the CARES Act to modify certain 
    provisions related to unemployment compensation, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 6, 2020

   Mr. Reed introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title II of division A of the CARES Act to modify certain 
    provisions related to unemployment compensation, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening Unemployment Insurance 
for Coronavirus Impacted Workers and Students Act''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--Section 2102(b) of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-
136) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Assistance for Unemployment as a Result of COVID-19.--Subject 
to subsection (c), the Secretary shall provide pandemic unemployment 
assistance--
            ``(1) to any covered individual while such individual is 
        unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable to work for the 
        weeks of such unemployment with respect to which the individual 
        is not entitled to any other unemployment compensation (as that 
        term is defined in section 85(b) of title 26, United States 
        Code) or waiting period credit; and
            ``(2) to any other individual for weeks with respect to 
        which the individual would be a covered individual but for the 
        individual's lack of a recent attachment to the labor force.''.
    (b) Amount of Assistance for New Job Entrants.--
            (1) In general.--Section 2102(d) of such Act is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``The assistance 
                authorized under subsection (b)'' and inserting 
                ``Except as provided in paragraph (2), the assistance 
                authorized under subsection (b)(1)'';
                    (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph 
                (4); and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) Amount of assistance for new job entrants.--The 
        assistance authorized under subsection (b)(2) for an individual 
        described in such subsection for a week shall be an amount 
        equal to $300.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 2102(d)(2) of such Act 
        is amended by striking ``subsection (b)'' and inserting 
        ``subsection (b)(1)''.
    (c) Relationship With Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation.--
Section 2104(i)(2)(C) of such Act is amended by striking ``section 
2102'' and inserting ``section 2102 (other than assistance provided 
under subsection (b)(2) of such section)''.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL PANDEMIC SHORT-TIME COMPENSATION.

    Section 2104(b) of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) Federal pandemic short-time compensation.--Any 
        agreement under this section shall provide that, in the case of 
        a State that provides under the State law for the payment of 
        short-time compensation under a short-time compensation program 
        (as defined in section 3306(v) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986), the State agency of the State will make payments of 
        compensation (as defined in subsection (h) of such section) to 
        employees participating in such program in amounts and to the 
        extent that they would be determined under such program if the 
        State law of the State were applied, with respect to any week 
        for which the individual is (disregarding this section) 
        otherwise eligible under the program under the State law to 
        receive such compensation, as if such State law had been 
        modified in a manner such that the amount of compensation 
        payable for any week shall be equal to the amount determined 
        under the State law (before the application of this paragraph) 
        plus $600 (in this section referred to as `Federal Pandemic 
        Short-Time Compensation').''.

SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF FEDERAL PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.

    Section 2104(e) of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136) is amended to 
read as follows:
    ``(e) Applicability.--
            ``(1) In general.--An agreement entered into under this 
        section shall apply to weeks of unemployment--
                    ``(A) beginning on or after March 13, 2020; and
                    ``(B) ending on or before January 1, 2021.
            ``(2) Transition rule for individuals remaining entitled to 
        regular compensation as of january 1, 2021.--In the case of any 
        individual who, as of the date specified in paragraph (1)(B), 
        has not yet exhausted all rights to regular compensation under 
        the State law of a State with respect to a benefit year that 
        began before such date (or short-time compensation in the case 
        of a State described in subsection (b)(1)(B)), Federal Pandemic 
        Unemployment Compensation or Federal Pandemic Short-Time 
        Compensation (as the case may be) shall continue to be payable 
        to such individual for any week beginning on or after such date 
        for which the individual is otherwise eligible for regular 
        compensation (or short-time compensation) with respect to such 
        benefit year.
            ``(3) Termination.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        this subsection, no Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation 
        or Federal Pandemic Short-Time Compensation shall be payable 
        for any week beginning after June 30, 2021.''.

SEC. 5. DISREGARD OF CERTAIN COMPENSATION FOR MEANS-TESTED PROGRAMS.

    (a) Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation.--Section 2104(h) of 
the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(h) Payment To Be Disregarded for Purposes of All Federal and 
Federally Assisted Programs.--A Federal Pandemic Unemployment 
Compensation or Federal Pandemic Short-Time Compensation payment shall 
not be regarded as income and shall not be regarded as a resource for 
the month of receipt and the following 9 months, for purposes of 
determining the eligibility of the recipient (or the recipient's spouse 
or family) for benefits or assistance, or the amount or extent of 
benefits or assistance, under any Federal program or under any State or 
local program financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.''.
    (b) Enhanced Benefits Under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance 
Act.--Section 2(a)(5) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 
U.S.C. 352(a)(5)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(C) A recovery benefit payable under subparagraph (A) shall not 
be regarded as income and shall not be regarded as a resource for the 
month of receipt and the following 9 months, for purposes of 
determining the eligibility of the recipient (or the recipient's spouse 
or family) for benefits or assistance, or the amount or extent of 
benefits or assistance, under any Federal program or under any State or 
local program financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.''.

SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF FULL FEDERAL FUNDING OF EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT 
              COMPENSATION.

    Section 4105 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Public 
Law 116-127) is amended by striking ``December 31, 2020'' each place it 
appears and inserting ``June 30, 2021''.
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