UNITE Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-3642
Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2020-05-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Adult education and literacy
Aging
Appropriations
Asia
Bankruptcy
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Census and government statistics
China
Citizenship and naturalization
Congressional oversight
Consumer credit
Corporation for National and Community Service
Department of Homeland Security
Disaster relief and insurance
Education of the disadvantaged
Educational technology and distance education
Elementary and secondary education
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Emergency planning and evacuation
Employee hiring
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Food assistance and relief
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Health information and medical records
Health personnel
Health technology, devices, supplies
Homelessness and emergency shelter
Immigration status and procedures
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Mongolia
National and community service
Natural disasters
Peace Corps
Public-private cooperation
Rural conditions and development
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Unemployment
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs
Wages and earnings
Worker safety and health
World health

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-07
text: 

Undertaking National Initiatives to Tackle Epidemic Act of 2020 or the UNITE Act of 2020

 
This bill responds to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency by increasing volunteer opportunities within AmeriCorps and employment opportunities at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and requiring the re-enrollment of Peace Corps volunteers whose service ended involuntarily on March 15, 2020, or earlier for volunteers who were serving in China or Mongolia.
 
 Among other things, the bill
 
 
 reauthorizes through FY2022 Americorps programs;
 
 increases recruitment levels of its volunteers to 500,000 in FY2020-FY2022;
 
 sets the minimum compensation for Americorps volunteers, beginning in FY2020, at 200% of the poverty line applicable to a family of one; 
 
increases the ceiling on grant amounts to such volunteers from $18,000 to $25,000;
 
 increases the ceiling on the grant amount maximum limit from to not more than $19,500 to $30,000 per full-time equivalent position if necessary to meet the compelling needs of a particular program; 
 
 requires FEMA to appoint, administer, and expedite the training of an additional 62,000 Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employees above the level of such employees in FY2019 to address the COVID-19 emergency;
 
.authorizes federal agencies to provide assistance essential to meeting immediate threats to life and property resulting from a major disaster to provide for temporary or supplementary facilities for official government polling places; and 
 
authorizes the President to pay a state, tribal, or local government in which a major disaster has been declared stipends for temporary workers conducting nonpartisan official election poll worker services. 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2020-05-07
text: Introduced in Senate