article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This title may be cited as the ``Temporary Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2001''. SEC. 2. FEDERAL-STATE AGREEMENTS. (a) In General.--Any State which desires to do so may enter into and participate in an agreement under this title with the Secretary of Labor (in this title referred to as the ``Secretary''). Any State which is a party to an agreement under this title may, upon providing 30 days written notice to the Secretary, terminate such agreement. (b) Provisions of Agreement.--Any agreement under subsection (a) shall provide that the State agency of the State will make payments of temporary emergency unemployment compensation to individuals who-- (1) have exhausted all rights to regular compensation under the State law; (2) have no rights to compensation (including both regular compensation and extended compensation) with respect to a week under such law or any other State unemployment compensation law or to compensation under any other Federal law (and are not paid or entitled to be paid any additional compensation under any State or Federal law); and (3) are not receiving compensation with respect to such week under the unemployment compensation law of Canada. (c) Exhaustion of Benefits.--For purposes of subsection (b)(1), an individual shall be deemed to have exhausted such individual's rights to regular compensation under a State law when-- (1) no payments of regular compensation can be made under such law because such individual has received all regular compensation available to such individual based on employment or wages during such individual's base period; or (2) such individual's rights to such compensation have been terminated by reason of the expiration of the benefit year with respect to which such rights existed. (d) Weekly Benefit Amount.--For purposes of any agreement under this title-- (1) the amount of temporary emergency unemployment compensation which shall be payable to any individual for any week of total unemployment shall be equal to the amount of the regular compensation (including dependents' allowances) payable to such individual during such individual's benefit year under the State law for a week of total unemployment; (2) the terms and conditions of the State law which apply to claims for regular compensation and to the payment thereof shall apply to claims for temporary emergency unemployment compensation and the payment thereof, except where inconsistent with the provisions of this title or with the regulations or operating instructions of the Secretary promulgated to carry out this title; and (3) the maximum amount of temporary emergency unemployment compensation payable to any individual for whom a temporary emergency unemployment compensation account is established under section 3 shall not exceed the amount established in such account for such individual. (e) Election by States.--Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal law (and if State law permits), the Governor of a State is authorized and may elect to trigger off an extended compensation period in order to provide payment of temporary emergency unemployment compensation to individuals who have exhausted their rights to regular compensation under State law. SEC. 3. TEMPORARY EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION ACCOUNT. (a) In General.--Any agreement under this title shall provide that the State will establish, for each eligible individual who files an application for temporary emergency unemployment compensation, a temporary emergency unemployment compensation account with respect to such individual's benefit year. (b) Amount in Account.-- (1) In general.--The amount established in an account under subsection (a) shall be equal to 13 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount for the benefit year. (2) Reduction for extended benefits.--The amount in an account under paragraph (1) shall be reduced (but not below zero) by the aggregate amount of extended compensation (if any) received by such individual relating to the same benefit year under the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note). (3) Weekly benefit amount.--For purposes of this subsection, an individual's weekly benefit amount for any week is the amount of regular compensation (including dependents' allowances) under the State law payable to such individual for such week for total unemployment. SEC. 4. PAYMENTS TO STATES HAVING AGREEMENTS FOR THE PAYMENT OF TEMPORARY EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION. (a) General Rule.--There shall be paid to each State that has entered into an agreement under this title an amount equal to 100 percent of the temporary emergency unemployment compensation paid to individuals by the State pursuant to such agreement. (b) Treatment of Reimbursable Compensation.--No payment shall be made to any State under this section in respect of any compensation to the extent the State is entitled to reimbursement in respect of such compensation under the provisions of any Federal law other than this title or chapter 85 of title 5, United States Code. A State shall not be entitled to any reimbursement under such chapter 85 in respect of any compensation to the extent the State is entitled to reimbursement under this title in respect of such compensation. (c) Determination of Amount.--Sums payable to any State by reason of such State having an agreement under this title shall be payable, either in advance or by way of reimbursement (as may be determined by the Secretary), in such amounts as the Secretary estimates the State will be entitled to receive under this title for each calendar month, reduced or increased, as the case may be, by any amount by which the Secretary finds that the Secretary's estimates for any prior calendar month were greater or less than the amounts which should have been paid to the State. Such estimates may be made on the basis of such statistical, sampling, or other method as may be agreed upon by the Secretary and the State agency of the State involved. SEC. 5. FINANCING PROVISIONS. (a) In General.--Funds in the extended unemployment compensation account (as established by section 905(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1105(a)) of the Unemployment Trust Fund (as established by section 904(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1104(a)) shall be used for the making of payments to States having agreements entered into under this title. (b) Certification.--The Secretary shall from time to time certify to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment to each State the sums payable to such State under this title. The Secretary of the Treasury, prior to audit or settlement by the General Accounting Office, shall make payments to the State in accordance with such certification, by transfers from the extended unemployment compensation account (as so established) to the account of such State in the Unemployment Trust Fund (as so established). (c) Assistance to States.--There are appropriated, without fiscal year limitation, such funds as may be necessary for purposes of assisting States (as provided in title III of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 501 et seq.) in meeting the costs of administration of agreements under this title. (d) Authorization of Appropriations for Certain Payments.--There are appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury, without fiscal year limitation, to the extended unemployment compensation account (as so established) of the Unemployment Trust Fund (as so established) such sums as the Secretary estimates to be necessary to make the payments under this section in respect of-- (1) compensation payable under chapter 85 of title 5, United States Code; and (2) compensation payable on the basis of services to which section 3309(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 applies. Amounts appropriated pursuant to the preceding sentence shall not be required to be repaid. SEC. 6. FRAUD AND OVERPAYMENTS. (a) In General.--If an individual knowingly has made, or caused to be made by another, a false statement or representation of a material fact, or knowingly has failed, or caused another to fail, to disclose a material fact, and as a result of such false statement or representation or of such nondisclosure such individual has received an amount of temporary emergency unemployment compensation under this title to which he was not entitled, such individual-- (1) shall be ineligible for further temporary emergency unemployment compensation under this title in accordance with the provisions of the applicable State unemployment compensation law relating to fraud in connection with a claim for unemployment compensation; and (2) shall be subject to prosecution under section 1001 of title 18, United States Code. (b) Repayment.--In the case of individuals who have received amounts of temporary emergency unemployment compensation under this title to which they were not entitled, the State shall require such individuals to repay the amounts of such emergency unemployment compensation to the State agency, except that the State agency may waive such repayment if it determines that-- (1) the payment of such emergency unemployment compensation was without fault on the part of any such individual; and (2) such repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience. (c) Recovery by State Agency.-- (1) In general.--The State agency may recover the amount to be repaid, or any part thereof, by deductions from any temporary emergency unemployment compensation payable to such individual under this title or from any unemployment compensation payable to such individual under any Federal unemployment compensation law administered by the State agency or under any other Federal law administered by the State agency which provides for the payment of any assistance or allowance with respect to any week of unemployment, during the 3-year period after the date such individuals received the payment of the temporary emergency unemployment compensation to which they were not entitled, except that no single deduction may exceed 50 percent of the weekly benefit amount from which such deduction is made. (2) Opportunity for hearing.--No repayment shall be required, and no deduction shall be made, until a determination has been made, notice thereof and an opportunity for a fair hearing has been given to the individual, and the determination has become final. (d) Review.--Any determination by a State agency under this section shall be subject to review in the same manner and to the same extent as determinations under the State unemployment compensation law, and only in that manner and to that extent. SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. In this title, the terms ``compensation'', ``regular compensation'', ``extended compensation'', ``additional compensation'', ``benefit year'', ``base period'', ``State'', ``State agency'', ``State law'', and ``week'' have the respective meanings given such terms under section 205 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note). SEC. 8. APPLICABILITY. An agreement entered into under this Act shall apply to weeks of unemployment-- (1) beginning no earlier than the first day of the first week beginning after the date on which such agreement is entered into; and (2) ending before the date that is 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act. SEC. 9. TEMPORARY REDUCTION IN INTEREST RATE APPLICABLE TO REPAYMENTS OF ADVANCES TO STATE UNEMPLOYMENT FUNDS. With respect to advances made to a State under section 1201 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1321) during the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending on the date that is 18 months after such date of enactment, the rate of interest paid by a State on such an advance shall be determined under section 1202(b)(4) of the such Act (42 U.S.C. 1322(b)(4)) by substituting ``5 percent'' for ``10 percent'' in the matter preceding subparagraph (A).
summary: Temporary Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2001 - Provides for a program of temporary emergency unemployment compensation (TEUC).Sets forth TEUC program requirements for Federal-State agreements, formulas for determining amounts in individual TEUC accounts and weekly benefits, payments to States, and financing. Includes among eligibility requirements an individual's not having rights, with respect to a week, to other compensation (including both regular and extended compensation). Reduces an individual TEUC account by the aggregate amount of any extended compensation for the same benefit year.Applies TEUC agreements to weeks of unemployment: (1) beginning on or after the first day of the first week after the date on which such agreement is entered into; and (2) ending before the date that is 18 months after enactment of this Act.Provides for a temporary reduction in the interest rate applicable to repayments of advances to State unemployment funds.