"Authorization of Advances to Account

"(d) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary for the purposes of making repayable advances, without interest, to the recession unemployment compensation account, at such times as the balance of such account is insufficient to carry out the purposes of the Recession Unemployment Compensation Act of 1965."

SEC. 4. For the purposes of this Act

(1) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Labor.

(2) The term "State" includes the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(3) The term “recession period" means the period (A) beginning with the week immediately following any 13-week period during which the average rate of insured unemployment in a State is equal or greater than 115 percent of the average rate of insured unemployment for the corresponding 13-week periods of the two preceding years, and (B) ending with the week immediately following any 13-week period during which such rate was less than 115 percent of the average rate of insured unemployment for the corresponding 13-week periods of the two preceding years; except that no new recession period shall commence at any time a recession period is already in effect. (4) The term "exhaustee" means an individual who has filed a claim for regular State unemployment compensation benefits and has received the maximum sum allowable in his benefit year as defined under State law.

(5) The term "regular State unemployment compensation" means the regular unemployment compensation payable to an individual for weeks in his benefit year under the State law, exclusive of any additional unemployment compensation payable to such individual under the State law during periods of high unemployment.

(6) The term "recession benefits" means unemployment compensation benefits paid to exhaustees during recession periods and Federal sharing periods.

(7) The term "Federal sharing period" means the period beginning three weeks after the beginning of a recession period and ending 13 weeks after the beginning of such recession period or three weeks after the end of such recession period, whichever is later.

SEC. 5. For the purpose of assisting each State to provide unemployment compensation benefits to exhaustees during recession periods, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year a sum sufficient to carry out the purposes of this Act. The sums made available under this section shall be used for making payments to States which have paid recession benefits to exhaustees or which have paid benefits beyond 26 weeks of duration to claimants of regular State unemployment compensation benefits during Federal sharing periods.

SEC. 6. (a) Whenever a recession period exists in any State, payments shall be made such State from the funds appropriated pursuant to section 5 in an amount equal to one-half of the total sums expended by such State for the payment of recession benefits subject to the limitations hereinafter set forth. Such payments shall be made for the Federal sharing period commencing three weeks after the commencement of the recession period and ending three weeks after the recession period ends, but in no event for a period of less than 13 weeks. The United States will share in the cost of providing recession benefits only up to the following limits:

(1) Recession benefit entitlement up to one-half an exhaustee's regular State unemployment compensation entitlement or thirteen weeks of entitlement, whichever is less;

(2) A combined total amount of regular State unemployment compensation benefits, plus recession benefits, up to 39 weeks of benefits for total unemployment; and

(3) Recession benefits which are payable only during the established benefit year of each claimant as determined under the State law. (b) Nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting any State from providing benefits in amounts and for periods of time different than the limitations prescribed in this section nor from establishing eligibility, qualification, and disqualification conditions for exhaustees different from those established for claimants of regular State unemployment compensation. However, the United States will share in the cost of such program only to the extent set forth herein.

(c) Whenever a week of unemployment, with respect to which recession benefits are paid, begins during the final week of the Federal sharing period, the cost of such week of benefits shall be shared in the same manner as prescribed in subsection (a) of this section and section 7(b) of this Act.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, the United States will pay to a State, either in advance or by way of reimbursement, the entire cost of recession benefit payments made to claimants pursuant to title XV of the Social Security Act, including the cost of administration in connection with such payments.

SEC. 7. (a) At the beginning of a recessional period, the Secretary shall estimate the amount to which the State will be entitled under section 6(a) for such period. Such estimate shall be based on (1) a report filed by the State containing its estimate of the total sum to be expended during such period, and (2) such other investigation as the Secretary may find necessary. The Secretary shall then pay to the State, in such installments as he may determine, the amount so estimated, reduced or increased to the extent of any overpayment or underpayment which the Secretary determines was made under this section to such State for any period and with respect to which adjustment has not already been made under this subsection.

(b) The United States shall reimburse each State for one-half the cost of any regular State unemployment compensation paid by it to an individual with respect to a week of unemployment beginning in a Federal sharing period, to the extent the sum of such cost, plus the State unemployment compensation paid by such State for prior weeks of unemployment in the benefit year, as defined by State law, and not reimbursed under this section, exceeds twenty-six times, but does not exceed thirty-nine times, the weekly benefit amount (including allowances for dependents for total unemployment which was payable to such individual pursuant to State law in such compensation period.

(c) All money paid a State under this Act shall be used solely for the purposes for which it is paid; and any money so paid which is not used for such purposes shall be returned to the Treasury and credited to current applicable appropriations, funds, or accounts from which payments to States under this Act may be made.

The CHAIRMAN. Also without objection, a copy of the document which contains the numbered recommendations of the Interstate Conference along with the votes on each recommendation will be made a part of the record at this point.

(The document referred to follows:)

RECOMMENDATIONS OF INTERSTATE CONFERENCE OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AGENCIES AS TO UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE LEGISLATION

1. COVERAGE UNDER THE FEDERAL UNEMPLOYMENT TAX ACT

(a) In lieu of the proposed "one at any time" coverage of small employers, to be effected by section 201 of H.R. 8282, the Conference recommends that section 3306(a) of the Internal Revenue Code be amended to extend the coverage of the tax to any employer who has paid gross total wages of $300 or more to employees in any calendar quarter in the taxable year.

(b) The Conference recommends that the coverage of the Federal tax be extended to certain nonprofit organizations and their employees, with certain exclusions, all as provided in section 203 of H.R. 8282, including its authorization for any State either to accept reimbursement for benefits or to collect contributions from such normally tax-exempt nonprofit organizations.

But the Conference also recommends that collection of the net Federal unemployment tax be waived as to such nonprofit employers.

(c) The Conference recommends extending coverage to certain employees not now covered because they are not employees under the common law masterservant test. Section 204 of H.R. 8282 extends coverage to these workers, which include those employed as agent or commission drivers distributing meat, vegetables, fruit, bakery products, etc.

(d) The Conference recommends that coverage be extended to agricultural processing workers, as would be done by the first few lines of section 205 of H.R. 8282.

(e) The Conference recommends against extending coverage to agricultural labor, as would be done by the balance of section 205.

But the Conference recommends that the problems involved in covering agricultural labor be the subject of study by the Special Advisory Commission (proposed by sec. 301 of H.R. 8282 and recommended below), and by the Secretary of Labor, and by State employment security agencies, with a view to appropriate future action.

2. EXTENDED BENEFITS DURING PERIODS OF HIGHER UNEMPLOYMENT

The Conference recommends that the extended benefits program which it developed and endorsed and which is embodied in H.R. 7476 and H.R. 7477, be adopted. It recommends, however, that two changes be made.

(a) The "trigger point" at which the program will become operative in a State should be changed, from 115 to 120 percent. A State "ression" period and a Federal cost-sharing period, for extended benefit purposes, would thus begin shortly after a 13-week period during which the State's average rate of insured unemployment has been 120 percent or more of that average rate for the corresponding 13-week periods of the 2 preceding years.

(b) As to financing the Federal share of extended benefit costs, the transfers to be made to the new "recession unemployment compensation account" (from

the "employment security administration account") are considered below, under recommendation 12.

The Conference recommends against adoption of the Federal unemployment adjustment benefits (FUAB) program, set forth in title I of H.R. 8282. The Conference considered possible alternative programs dealing with various kinds of long-term unemployment. It recognized that some new program or programs, perhaps of a quasi-welfare type, may be needed in addition to the now-available programs of jobless benefits, retraining, and relocation. The Conference suggests that devising appropriate programs should be the subject of further study, by the Special Advisory Commission or by a Presidential or congressional committee.

(a) The Conference recommends that the Internal Revenue Code be amended to provide that the weekly benefit amount of any eligible individual for a week of total unemployment shall be an amount (exclusive of allowances with respect to dependents) equal to at least 50 percent of such individual's average weekly wage as determined by the State agency up to a maximum weekly benefit amount which shall be no less than 50 percent of the statewide average weekly wage in covered employment.

(b) The Conference recommends that no standard as to benefit durations be imposed upon the States by Federal legislation.

(c) The Conference recommends further, that no standard as to State qualifying requirements be imposed.

4. OTHER BENEFIT REQUIREMENTS

(a) The Conference recommends that there be no Federal requirement relating to the disqualification provisions of State laws.

(b) The Conference recommends against any Federal requirement that an individual must have some work in 1 benefit year to qualify in his next benefit year; i.e., the so-called double dip provision.

(c) The Conference recommends that there be no Federal prohibition as to the reduction or cancellation of State benefit credits.

(d) The Conference recommends that the Federal law contain a new provision which will prohibit any State from denying the benefits to an otherwise eligible individual because he is taking approved training.

The Conference recommends that the Federal law contain a new provision which will prohibit any State from denying or reducing benefits to an otherwise eligible individual solely because he files a claim in or resides in another State. The Conference recommends, however, that the language establishing such prohibition contain a proviso, so as to make the closing paragraph of section 211 of H.R. 8282 read as follows:

"(11) Compensation shall not be denied or reduced in such State to an otherwise eligible individual solely because he files a claim in another State or because he resides in another State at the time he files a claim for unemployment compensation; provided that nothing herein shall be construed as limiting the right of any State to deny compensation to a claimant based upon criteria relating to his availability to work or his removal to a labor market area where there is little or no opportunity for employment, or other criteria which do not have as their basis