Policy makers and analysts have searched for methods to speed the return to work of unemployment compensation (UC) recipients with varying levels of intensity. The most recent recession led to an unprecedented increase in the number of workers unemployed for more than 26 weeks (the long-term unemployed). As a result, congressional interest in policy initiatives to expedite the return to work grew. This report examines the current initiatives as well as previous demonstration projects within the UC system to reduce long-term unemployment and speed the return to work. Several unemployment insurance (UI) programs provide benefits to eligible workers when they lose their jobs. In most states, the regular UC program provides up to 26 weeks of income support through the payment of regular state benefits. The permanently authorized Extended Benefit (EB) program extends UC benefits if certain economic conditions exist within the state; that program is jointly funded by the federal and state governments. As in previous recessions, in June 2008, Congress created an additional temporary federally financed Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) program that further extended the maximum duration of benefit receipt; the authorization for this program ends on December 28, 2013 (December 29, 2013, in New York). In addition, several smaller state and federal programs provide benefits for other certain types of eligible unemployed workers. For detailed information on federal programs available to unemployed workers, see CRS Report RL34251, Federal Programs Available to Unemployed Workers . The cornerstone of an unemployed worker's income security is the joint federal-state UC program, which provides income support through the payment of UC benefits. The underlying framework of the UC system is contained in the Social Security Act (the Act). Title III of the Act authorizes grants to states for the administration of state UC laws, Title IX authorizes the various components of the federal Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF), and Title XII authorizes advances or loans to insolvent state programs. UC is financed by federal taxes under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) and by state payroll taxes under the State Unemployment Tax Acts (SUTA). The UC program pays benefits to workers who become involuntarily unemployed for economic reasons and meet state-established eligibility rules. The UC program generally does not provide UC benefits to the self-employed, to those who are unable to work, or to those who do not have a recent earnings history. States usually disqualify claimants who lost their jobs because of inability to work, unavailability for work, who voluntarily quit without good cause, who were discharged for job-related misconduct, or who refused suitable work without good cause. To receive UC benefits, claimants must have enough recent earnings to meet their state's earnings requirements. Additionally, each state requires that the worker be able, available, and actively searching for work. States determine weekly benefit amounts and durations. Maximum weekly benefit amounts in July 2012 ranged from $133 (Puerto Rico) to $653 (Massachusetts) and, in states that provide dependent's allowances, up to $979 (Massachusetts, with 13 dependents). In 2012, the average weekly benefit was just over $300. In most states, regular UC benefits are available for up to 26 weeks. The average regular UC benefit duration in 2012 was just over 17 weeks. In the last week of January 2013, about 2.7 million unemployed workers were receiving regular UC benefits. The EB program, established by the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-373), may extend UC benefits at the state level if certain economic conditions exist within the state. The EB program is permanently authorized, and is triggered when a state's insured unemployment rate (IUR) or total unemployment rate (TUR) reaches certain levels. The federal government finances 50% of the EB program and states finance the other 50%. Up to 34 states had active EB programs at some point during or after the 2007-2009 recession; by June 10, 2012, 4 states had active EB programs. As of the writing of this report, only Alaska had an active EB program. On June 30, 2008, the EUC08 program was created by the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008 ( P.L. 110-252 ). This was the eighth time Congress created a federal temporary program that extended unemployment compensation during an economic slowdown. State UC agencies administered the EUC08 benefit along with regular UC and EB benefits. Amended 11 times, at the program's peak four tiers of EUC08 benefits were available to unemployed workers in states with high unemployment rates; in states in which all four tiers of EUC08 benefits were available, eligible unemployed workers could receive up to 99 weeks of benefits combined from the regular UC, EB, and EUC08 programs. All tiers of EUC08 benefits will expire on the week ending on or before January 1, 2014. From its inception, the UC program has been designed to provide temporary income support for eligible workers who lost their jobs, but has never been intended to last long enough to cover the entire spell of unemployment of every recipient. The Social Security Act of 1935, P.L. 74-271, left it up to each state to determine how long eligible unemployed workers would be allowed to receive benefits, as well as most other terms of the program. Initially, states set the maximum duration between 12 and 20 weeks, with 16 weeks being the most common. By the early 1960s, most states had increased the maximum duration to 26 weeks, where it remained until recently. Each state sets its own rules to determine how long benefits can be collected. Nine states (Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Puerto Rico, and West Virginia) provide uniform durations for all claimants who meet the qualifying-wage requirements. The rest have variable durations in which the state determines the limit on total benefits that a claimant can receive in a benefit year, generally based on the claimant's wages during a base period, and then divides that amount by the claimant's weekly benefit amount. By 2013, eight states that had provided UC benefits for up to 26 weeks acted to decrease their maximum UC benefit durations. Arkansas decreased its state UC maximum duration to 25 weeks, effective March 30, 2011. Florida decreased its maximum duration to a variable maximum duration, depending on the state unemployment rate and ranging from 12 weeks up to 23 weeks, effective January 1, 2012. Georgia decreased its maximum duration to a variable maximum duration that ranges between 14 weeks and 20 weeks, effective May 2, 2012. Illinois decreased its maximum duration to 25 weeks, effective January 1, 2012. Michigan decreased its maximum duration to 20 weeks, effective for individuals filing an initial claim for UC benefits on or after January 15, 2012. Missouri decreased its maximum duration to 20 weeks, effective April 13, 2011. North Carolina decreased the maximum UC duration from 26 weeks to a variable maximum duration, depending on the state unemployment rate and ranging from 12 weeks up to 20 weeks, effective July 1, 2013. South Carolina also decreased its maximum duration to 20 weeks, effective June 14, 2011. Decisions by state and federal lawmakers about how long to provide unemployment benefits to eligible workers reflect difficult tradeoffs among several program goals and constraints. The main goals of the program have been to provide temporary income support to workers who lose their jobs and to help stabilize the overall level of economic activity by providing weekly cash benefits to eligible unemployed workers. But as the potential duration of benefits increases, the costs of the program also rise. Moreover, the availability of UC benefits may lengthen the time that a recipient remains unemployed for at least two reasons. First, some individuals may not have as strong an incentive to quickly return to work while they are receiving UC benefits; the partial replacement of lost earnings enables them to enjoy more leisure. Second, many unemployed workers are liquidity constrained—that is, they do not have access to assets, loans, or other income to help maintain their consumption while they are looking for work. By providing temporary income support, the UC benefits enable those job-seekers to take the time to find a better job than they might have found otherwise. For a more nuanced discussion and summary of the estimated effects of UC on the economy, labor market, and individual behavior, see CRS Report R41676, The Effect of Unemployment Insurance on the Economy and the Labor Market , by [author name scrubbed]. There is no consensus on the magnitude of the impact of lengthening the potential duration of UC benefits on the length of time workers are unemployed. For example, some researchers suggest that a 13-week extension of available benefits would increase the average number of weeks of regular UC benefit receipt by one week while others suggest up to a 2.5 week increase. The magnitude of estimated impact may change by factors such as the general state of the labor market and the economy. If the economy is weak, the impact of additional weeks of benefits on unemployment duration is likely to be smaller since the likelihood of finding is new job is smaller. In a strong economy where job opportunities are more plentiful, the impact on duration may be larger since the likelihood of reemployment is larger. Most of the studies examining the effects of the program have limited the focus to unemployed workers receiving benefits or workers who would be potentially eligible to receive benefits if they were to become unemployed. In addition, the effects of the program could spill over and affect the large number of unemployed workers who are not eligible for benefits (for example, new entrants and reentrants into the labor force). The chances of these UC-ineligible job-seekers finding a job may increase as some UC recipients reduce their effort searching for work. Two measures, the exhaustion rate and the average duration of receipt, are commonly used to characterize the length of time that UC recipients collect benefits. Both provide valuable information about how well the program is performing. The exhaustion rate is an estimate of the percentage of recipients that use up or "exhaust" their entitlement to regular benefits.