U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), and U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), have reintroduced legislation that would reform the unemployment insurance.
The legislation, the Unemployment Insurance Modernization and Recession Readiness Act, seeks to modernize the program by raising base benefits, minimize disparities amongst states, create permanent benefits for self-employed workers and extend weeks of benefits to real-world economic conditions. Officials said the legislation would better meet the needs of a modern workforce and prepare the program to respond should the economy go into a recession in the future.
“There’s no question that our unemployment insurance system is in desperate need of an update,” Wyden said. “American workers who become unemployed by no fault of their own shouldn’t have to worry about putting food on the table and paying their bills as they get back on their feet. This bill modernizes unemployment insurance so working Americans get a 21st century economic lifeline – all while ensuring that we’re keeping up with our changing economy.”
The legislation automatically increases the number of weeks of benefits when unemployment rises and establishes new requirements for state unemployment programs to ensure they are ready to support workers who lose their jobs. Minimum requirements for states would be to offer 26 weeks of benefits, replace 75 percent of workers’ wages, cover part-time workers and pay workers for their first week of unemployment.
Additionally, the legislation would create new permanent federal programs for unemployed workers, include a $250 per week Jobseeker Allowance for workers not covered by traditional unemployment insurance, like new workers and self-employed workers. The bill would also add a federal allowance of $25 per week for each of an unemployed worker’s dependents that would raise an unemployed worker’s wage replacement rate to 100 percent during major disasters or public health emergencies, officials said.
“The last recession again showed the importance of our unemployment insurance system and the desperate need for its expansion and modernization,” Beyer said. “The inadequacy of the system forced Congress to step in and temporarily expand the program, but without permanent reform we remain woefully unprepared for a major crisis. Our bill would make long-overdue improvements to our unemployment system that will help families, and the broader economy more easily weather a future economic shock.”
U.S. Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders(I-VT), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) co-sponsored the legislation. Additionally, the legislation is supported by more than 100 advocacy and worker organizations.