United States--Mexico Economic Partnership Act--Continue

Floor Speech

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Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, section 20l(f) of the unemployment extension provisions of the bill we are considering this evening contains language limiting retroactive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance compensation for applicants that had not applied by the date of enactment of this bill.

It is my understanding that this provision is intended to cover individuals who have known for months of their eligibility for benefits but failed to apply in a timely manner. However, it is also my understanding that this provision is not intended to apply in cases where the individuals have only recently learned they would be eligible for PUA and a State unemployment office had previously advised those individuals not to apply for benefits. This is the case, for instance, for secondary schools students in Minnesota, who were advised by the State that they were not eligible for PUA, but a court recently determined that the students were indeed eligible earlier this month.

It is also my understanding that this provision is not intended to apply to individuals who have filed a regular State unemployment insurance claim that remains in adjudication, who later find out that they are ineligible for regular unemployment compensation and must apply for PUA instead.

Senator Wyden was the lead Democratic negotiator on the unemployment provisions of this bill. Does he share the same understanding of the intent of this provision?

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Ms. SMITH. Thank you for the clarification and for your work in drafting the unemployment compensation language in this bill.

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