Reason for a Federal system... Matching grants for excess benefit costs... Financing of the Federal unemployment adjustment benefits and matching grants for excess benefit costs. Research and training.. Employers of one or more_ Nonprofit organizations___ Agricultural workers on large farms_ Other coverage changes. Agricultural labor. Employee Maritime employers. Definition of wages.. State problems.. Increase in the tax rate- Benefit requirements.. Qualifying requirement. Additional terms and conditions_ Requalifying requirement. Special Advisory Commission. V. Background information__ VI. Selected charts and tables.. Overall: Chart 1. Unemployment and UI claims-1964---. Table 2. Number and percentage of beneficiaries who ex- Page 1 3 55 57 58 58 58 59 60 60 60 62 62 63 64 64 64 65 65 66 67 68 68 68 69 69 70 71 72 72 72 73 75 75 76 77 77 78 79 80 81 81 83 89 90 91 Table 3. States providing duration of unemployment insur- Table 5. Matching grants for excess costs, States potentially Table 6. Matching grants for excess benefit costs, potential VI. Selected charts and tables-Continued Cost: Chart 7. Earmarking of Federal funds under S. 1991. Table 9. Estimated Federal unemployment tax collections Table 10. Estimated Federal unemployment tax collections 96 Coverage: Chart 11. Present and proposed unemployment insurance Chart 12. UI coverage lags behind OASDI coverage__ Table 14. Distribution of States by minimum size of firm 100 100 Table 16. Number of farms, hired farmworkers and man-days 101 Wage base: Table 17. Percentage of wages taxable under State UI laws, 101 Table 18. Taxable payrolls as percent of total payroll and Table 19. Provisions for automatic extension of State's Table 20. Average employer contribution rates by States, Chart 21. State reserve ratio as a multiple of highest 12- 102 102 103 104 Table 22. Summary of transactions under title XII 105 105 105 Table 25. FUTA tax rates for Alaska, Michigan, and 106 Benefit requirements: Table 26. State qualifying requirements compared with 106 Chart 27. Maximum weekly benefit amounts are relatively 108 Chart 28. Maximum weekly benefit amount December 109 Table 29. Percentage of new insured claimants eligible 110 Table 30. Increases in maximum weekly benefit amount 111 Table 31. Maximum weekly benefit amount and amount 112 Chart 32. Effects of proposed UI benefit standard (S. 1991) 113 Table 33. Claimants exhausting benefits and average actual 126 Table 34. Statutory minimum and maximum duration of 127 Additional terms: Table 35. Summary of selected disqualification provisions of 128 MAY 18, 1965.-Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor and ordered to be printed, with accompanying papers To the Congress of the United States: UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE SYSTEM Improvements in our unemployment compensation system are essential if the program is to exert a stronger stabilizing effect on the economy and provide people with adequate income when out of work. The system has not kept pace with the times. No major improvements have been made since its original enactment 30 years ago. There are still many workers who are not protected by unemployment compensation. Other workers, through no fault of their own, experience excessively long periods of uncompensated unemployment. The plight of the long-term unemployed results primarily from economic factors such as automation, other technological changes, and relocation of industry. Their unemployment is a phenomenon of normal as well as recession periods. It can be dealt with effectively only through a nationally coordinated program. Even in nonrecession periods of recent years, the number of longterm unemployed has remained high. Among unemployment insurance beneficiaries, those unemployed 26 or more weeks represented 15 percent of the total in 1956, 29 percent in 1961, and about 20 percent in 1962 and 1964. The wider coverage, extended benefit periods, and increased benefit amounts provided in the bill will lessen the hardship and suffering that accompany unemployment and, at the same time, provide stimulus to the economy when it is most needed. Now, when unemployment is lower than it has been for years, is the appropriate time to modernize the system so that it will better meet the needs of workers, the community, and the Nation. Today, weekly benefits are often too low in amount and too short in duration in relation to lost wages to enable the workers to meet basic and nondeferrable expenses. Ceilings on compensation all too often fail to yield the original goal of 50 percent of past wages. This is particularly true for workers who have the highest income levels, and these workers are generally heads of family. The bill therefore assures adequate payments for a fixed duration for most regular workers. The burden of excessively high unemployment costs that exist in several States must be relieved and the financial soundness of the system strengthened. This will be achieved by increasing the amount of wages subject to taxation-the first increase in the history of the program-as well as by increasing the amount of tax and recognizing the Federal responsibility through provision for contributions from general revenues, with matching grants for high cost States. It is essential that this system be administered with both justice and firmness. We know some workers have been denied benefits when justice required payment. We also know some workers have been granted benefits when firmness required their denial. For this reason the proposed legislation calls for steps which will help assure that benefits are paid only to those who are entitled to them and that unreasonable disqualifications are eliminated. 89TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1991 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 18, 1965 Mr. MCCARTHY (for himself, Mr. CASE, Mr. BARTLETT, Mr. CLARK, Mr. DOUGLAS, Mr. HART, Mr. HARTKE, Mr. JAVITS, Mr. KENNEDY of New York, Mr. MCGEE, Mr. METCALF, Mr. MONDALE, Mr. MORSE, Mr. RANDOLPH, and Mr. WILLIAMS of New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide for the establishment of a program of Federal unemployment adjustment benefits, to provide for matching grants for excess benefit costs, to extend coverage, to establish Federal requirements with respect to unemployment compensation, to increase the wage base for the Federal unemployment tax, to increase the rate of the Federal unemployment tax and to provide for a Federal contribution, to establish a Federal adjustment account in the Unemployment Trust Fund, to change the annual certification date under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, to provide for a research program and for a Special Advisory Commission, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, II |