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March 11, 2021
Unemployment Insurance Provisions in the American Rescue
Plan Act of 2021
The UnemploymentInsurance (UI) provisions in Title IX,
Subtitle A, of the American Rescue Plan Actof2021
(ARPA; H.R 1319, as passedby the Senate onMarch6,
2021, and by the House on March 10, 2021) would enact
four significant changes to UIprograms andbenefits-
specifically, ARPA would:
reauthorize and expand the enhanced UIbenefits created
under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic
Security Act (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136, enacted Match
27, 2020) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2021 (P.L. 116-260, enacted December 27, 2020; the UT
provisions are titled the Continued Assistance for
Unemployed Workers Act of2020 [Continued
Assistance Act]);
extend the authorization for additional, temporary UT
provisions first authorized undertheCARES Act and
the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA;
P.L. 116-127, enactedMarch 18, 2020) and extended
under the Continued Assistance Act;
authorize a federal income taxexclusion of up to
$10,200 in UI benefits in 2020 for taxpayers with
modified adjustedgross income (AGI) of less than
$150,000; and
provide two sources ofadditional UIadministrative
funding: (1) $2 billion to U.S. Department of Labor
(DOL) for federal and state administrationofUI
benefits, including for fraud prevention and benefit
processing purposes; and (2) $8 million to DOL for
federal activities related to UIprograms.
For additionalinformation on UT programs and benefits, see
CRS Report R46687, CurrentStatus ofUnemployment
Insurance (UI) Benefits: Permanent-Law Programs and
COVID-19 Pandemic Response.
Reauthorized and Expanded Federal Ul
Benefits
The UT provisions in ARPA would reauthorize and expand
the four temporary UI benefits created under the CARES
Act and the Continued Assistance Act: Federal Pandemic
Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), Pandemic
Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC),
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and Mixed
Earned UnemploymentCompensation (MEUC).
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
Originally authorized under the CARES Act at $600 per
week, FPUC is a weekly UI benefit augmentation that
initially expired on July 25, 2020 (July 26, 2020, in New
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York). After this expiration, on August 8, 2020, former
President Trump is sued a presidential memorandum
creating Lost Wages Assistance, a grant programthat
supplemented the weekly benefits of certain eligible UT
claimants with up to $300 weekly in federal funding. All
states ended LostWages Assistance payments by
September5, 2020. The Continued Assistance Act
reauthorized FPUC at $300 per week for weeks of
unemployment beginning after December 26,2020, and
ending on orbeforeMarch 14, 2021.
ARPA would extend the Continued Assistance Act's
reauthorization of FPUC at $300 per week through weeks
of unemployment ending onor before September 6, 2021.
After September 4, 2021 (September5, 2021, in New
York), no FPUC benefits would be payable.
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment
Compensation
PEUC provides additional weeks of federally fmancedUI
benefits for individuals who exhaust state andfederalUI
benefits and are able, available, and actively seeking work,
subject toflexibilities related to Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19). PEUC was originally created as a 13-weekUI
extension underthe CARES Act andpayable through
weeks of unemployment ending December 26,2020
(December 27, 2020, in New York).
The Continued AssistanceAct subsequently authorized 11
additional weeks of PEUC benefits (for a total of 24 weeks;
the additional weeks were only payable beginning
December 26, 2020 [December 27, 2020, in New York])
and extendedthe authorizationforPEUC through weeks of
unemployment ending on or before March 14,2021 (March
13, 2021; March 14, 2021, in New York).
The American Rescue Plan Act would:
authorize 29 additional weeks of PEUCbenefits (not
retroactive; only payable with respect to weeks of
unemploymentbeginning March 14, 2021 [March 15,
2021, in New York]); and
extend the authorization for PEUC through weeks of
unemploymentendingon orbefore September6, 2021
(September 4,2021; September 5, 2021, in New York);
no PEUC benefits would be payable after that date.
The new PEUC expiration date would effectively limit
PEUC benefits to no more than an additional25 weeks and
a cumulative total of 49 weeks.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govecow0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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