Title: Emergency U.I. Solutions Act of 2020
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Emergency U.I. Solutions Act of 2020
This bill permits a state to enter into an agreement with the Department of Labor under which Labor will temporarily provide 100% of unemployment compensation (UC), including related administrative expenses, to certain individuals in their first week of unemployment, thus eliminating the state requirement that an individual has to wait one week before being eligible for UC.The unemployment must occur in an area for which there is an emergency declaration for such week.
Such agreement shall apply to weeks of unemployment after the agreement is entered into and ends on or before the earlier of (1) January 1, 2022, or (2) the state's compliance with certain federal requirements.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3482 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3482

 To provide full Federal funding for regular unemployment compensation 
   for the first week of otherwise compensable unemployment in areas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 12, 2020

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide full Federal funding for regular unemployment compensation 
   for the first week of otherwise compensable unemployment in areas.

    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 ``Emergency U.I. Solutions Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. TEMPORARY COVERAGE OF REGULAR UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION FOR THE 
              FIRST WEEK OF OTHERWISE COMPENSABLE UNEMPLOYMENT IN AREAS 
              COVERED BY AN EMERGENCY DECLARATION WITH FULL FEDERAL 
              FUNDING.

    (a) Federal-State Agreements.--Any State which desires to do so may 
enter into and participate in an agreement under this section with the 
Secretary of Labor (in this section referred to as the ``Secretary''). 
Any State which is a party to an agreement under this title may, upon 
providing 30 days' written notice to the Secretary, terminate such 
agreement.
    (b) Provisions of Agreement.--
            (1) In general.--Any agreement under subsection (a) shall 
        provide that the State agency of the State will make payments 
        of regular compensation to an individual for the first week of 
        otherwise compensable unemployment with respect to employment 
        in an area for which there is an emergency declaration for such 
        week.
            (2) Emergency declaration.--In this section, the term 
        ``emergency declaration'' means, with respect to an area, any 
        of the following:
                    (A) A major disaster declared for the area by the 
                President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford 
                Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
                5170).
                    (B) An emergency declared for the area by the 
                President under section 501 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                5191).
                    (C) A public health emergency declared for the area 
                by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under 
                section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
                247d).
    (c) Payments to States.--
            (1) Full reimbursement.--There shall be paid to each State 
        which has entered into an agreement under this section an 
        amount equal to 100 percent of--
                    (A) the total amount of regular compensation paid 
                to individuals by the State pursuant to such agreement; 
                and
                    (B) any additional administrative expenses incurred 
                by the State by reason of such agreement (as determined 
                by the Secretary).
            (2) Terms of payments.--Sums payable to any State by reason 
        of such State's having an agreement under this section shall be 
        payable, either in advance or by way of reimbursement (as 
        determined by the Secretary), in such amounts as the Secretary 
        estimates the State will be entitled to receive under this 
        section for each calendar month, reduced or increased, as the 
        case may be, by any amount by which the Secretary finds that 
        his estimates for any prior calendar month were greater or less 
        than the amounts which should have been paid to the State. Such 
        estimates may be made on the basis of such statistical, 
        sampling, or other method as may be agreed upon by the 
        Secretary and the State agency of the State involved.
    (d) Funding.--
            (1) Compensation.--
                    (A) In general.--Funds in the Federal unemployment 
                account (as established by section 905(g)) of the 
                Unemployment Trust Fund (as established by section 
                904(a)) shall be used to make payments under subsection 
                (c)(1)(A).
                    (B) Transfer of funds.--Notwithstanding any other 
                provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
                transfer from the general fund of the Treasury (from 
                funds not otherwise appropriated) to the Federal 
                unemployment account such sums as the Secretary of 
                Labor estimates to be necessary to make payments 
                described in subparagraph (A). There are appropriated 
                from the general fund of the Treasury, without fiscal 
                year limitation, the sums referred to in the preceding 
                sentence and such sums shall not be required to be 
                repaid.
            (2) Administrative expenses.--
                    (A) In general.--Funds in the employment security 
                administration account (as established by section 
                901(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1105(a)) 
                of the Unemployment Trust Fund (as established by 
                section 904(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1104(a)) shall be 
                used to make payments to States and Indian Tribes 
                pursuant to subsection (c)(1)(B).
                    (B) Transfer of funds.--Notwithstanding any other 
                provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
                transfer from the general fund of the Treasury (from 
                funds not otherwise appropriated) to the employment 
                security administration account such sums as the 
                Secretary of Labor estimates to be necessary to make 
                payments described in subparagraph (A). There are 
                appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury, 
                without fiscal year limitation, the sums referred to in 
                the preceding sentence and such sums shall not be 
                required to be repaid.
            (3) Certifications.--The Secretary shall from time to time 
        certify to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment to each 
        State the sums payable to such State under this section.
    (e) Applicability.--An agreement entered into under this section 
shall apply to weeks of unemployment with respect to a State--
            (1) beginning after the date on which such agreement is 
        entered into; and
            (2) ending on or before the earlier of--
                    (A) January 1, 2022; or
                    (B) the date the State law is in compliance with 
                the requirement under section 3304(a)(22) of the 
                Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
    (f) Fraud and Overpayments.--The provisions of section 4005 of the 
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 110-252; 122 Stat. 
2356) shall apply with respect to compensation paid under an agreement 
under this section to the same extent and in the same manner as in the 
case of emergency unemployment compensation under title IV of such Act.
    (g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the terms ``regular 
compensation'', ``State'', ``State agency'', ``State law'', and 
``week'' have the respective meanings given such terms under section 
205 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 
(26 U.S.C. 3304 note).

SEC. 3. PERMANENT STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE PAYMENT OF REGULAR 
              UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION FOR THE FIRST WEEK OF OTHERWISE 
              COMPENSABLE UNEMPLOYMENT.

    (a) Disallowing Waiting Weeks.--
            (1) In general.--Section 3304(a) of the Internal Revenue 
        Code of 1986 (relating to approval of State unemployment 
        compensation laws) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (18), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) by redesignating paragraph (19) as paragraph 
                (20); and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (18) the following 
                new paragraph:
            ``(19) compensation is paid to an individual for their 
        first week of otherwise compensable unemployment without a 
        waiting week; and''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
        shall apply to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after 
        January 1, 2022 (or earlier if established by State law (but in 
        no case earlier than the date of enactment of this Act)).
    (b) Conforming Amendment to the Extended Benefit Program.--Section 
204(a) of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 
1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ``paid for'' and 
        inserting ``subject to paragraph (4), paid for''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(4) Subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) shall not apply--
            ``(A) in the case of a State that pays regular compensation 
        to an individual for the first week of otherwise compensable 
        unemployment under an agreement under section 2 of the 
        Emergency U.I. Solutions Act of 2020; or
            ``(B) to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after the 
        earlier of--
                    ``(i) January 1, 2022; or
                    ``(ii) with respect to a State, the date the State 
                law is in compliance with section 3304(a)(19) of the 
                Internal Revenue Code of 1986.''.
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