To strike Federally mandated sick pay and paid family leave and replace it with financial support provided through State administered unemployment insurance systems and funds.

SA 1558. Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mr. Toomey, Mr. Braun, Mr. Scott
of Florida, Mr. Lee, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Cruz, Mrs.
Loeffler, Mr. Perdue, Mr. Sasse, and Mr. Barrasso) proposed an
amendment to the bill H.R. 6201, making emergency supplemental
appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for
other purposes; as follows:

Strike divisions C, E, and G.
At the end of division D, add the following:

SEC. __. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) it is the intention of Congress and the administration
to provide immediate financial support to workers who will be
idled and lose pay and benefits because of COVID-19;
(2) Federally mandated sick pay and paid family leave will
prompt some employers who cannot afford this mandate to
preemptively terminate the employment of workers they no
longer have work for due to circumstances surrounding COVID-
19;
(3) even without that negative incentive, the COVID-19 will
cause many Americans to lose their jobs, and not be eligible
for Federally mandated sick pay or family and medical leave,
so the only income support will be unemployment insurance;
and
(4) it would be more efficient to administer this Federal
financial support for workers using only one, rather than two
or more programs.

SEC. __. TEMPORARY EMERGENCY FEDERAL CORONAVIRUS UNEMPLOYMENT
INSURANCE BENEFIT PROGRAM.

(a) In General.--In order to receive the credit against the
Federal Unemployment Tax Act (26 U.S.C. 23), States shall
provide temporary emergency Federal coronavirus unemployment
insurance benefits to any individual who has worked for pay
at any time in the last 30 days and who for any calendar day
is not able to engage in employment due to any of the
following reasons:
(1) The individual is subject to a Federal, State, or local
quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.
(2) The individual has been advised by a health care
provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-
19.
(3) The individual is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and
seeking medical diagnosis;
(4) The individual is caring for an individual who is
subject to an order as described in paragraph (1) or has been
advised as described in paragraph (2);
(5) The individual is caring for a son or daughter under
the age of 18 years of such individual if the school or place
of care of the son or daughter has been closed, or the child
care provider of such son of daughter is unavailable, due to
COVID-19 precautions.
(6) The individual is subject to a temporary lay-off under
section 604.5(a)(3) of title 20, Code of Federal Regulations,
due to COVID-19.
(b) Waiting Period.--States shall not require any waiting
period in order to receive benefits for those individuals
described in subsection (a).
(c) Benefits.--
(1) In general.--States shall pay benefits to those
individuals described in subsection (a) on a weekly basis for
each calendar day an individual is not able to engage in
employment for up to 14 weeks.
(2) Calculation.--
(A) Amount.--The weekly benefit shall be the lesser of--
(i) two-thirds of the individual's average weekly earnings;
or
(ii) $1,000.
(B) Determinations.--The amount of an individual's average
weekly earnings shall be determined by the State.
(d) Retroactive Application.--States shall make temporary
emergency Federal coronavirus unemployment insurance benefits
under this section retroactively available to March 1, 2020.
(e) Work Requirements.--Individuals receiving temporary
emergency Federal coronavirus unemployment insurance benefits
under this section shall not be required to search for work.
(f) Federal Reimbursements.--The Federal government shall--
(1) reimburse States for the full cost of complying with
the requirements under this section that are above and beyond
the benefits currently provided under each State's current
unemployment insurance law for benefits paid under this
program; and
(2) reimburse any employer who employs fewer than 500
employees and who voluntarily provides paid leave to an
employee for the reasons described in subsection (a) an
amount equal to two-thirds of the actual payment made up to
$1,000 per week and not to exceed $10,000 per employee.
(g) National Unemployment Rate.--For purposes of
calculating the National unemployment rate, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor shall not include
workers obtaining temporary emergency Federal coronavirus
unemployment insurance benefits.
(h) Regulatory Authorities.--
(1) Labor.--The Secretary of Labor (or the Secretary's
delegate) shall prescribe such regulations or other guidance
as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this
section.
(2) Treasury.--The Secretary of Treasury (or the
Secretary's delegate) shall prescribe such regulations or
other guidance as may be necessary to carry out the purpose
of this section.
(i) Sunset.--The temporary emergency Federal coronavirus
unemployment insurance benefit program under this section
shall expire on the earlier of the date of the termination of
the national emergency declared by the President under the
National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) with
respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) or
December 31, 2020.
______