S.Amdt. 2559

SA 2559. Mr. ROMNEY (for himself, Ms. Collins, and Ms. McSally)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2499
proposed by Mr. McConnell to the bill S. 178, to condemn gross human
rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, and calling for
an end to arbitrary detention, torture, and harassment of these
communities inside and outside China; which was ordered to lie on the
table; as follows:

Strike sections 1 and 2 and insert the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Pandemic
Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO FEDERAL PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT
COMPENSATION TO BETTER MATCH LOST WAGES.

(a) Extension.--Section 2104(e)(2) of the Relief for
Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained in subtitle A
of title II of division A of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-
136)) is amended by striking ``July 31, 2020'' and inserting
``December 31, 2020''.
(b) Improvements to Accuracy of Payments.--
(1) Federal pandemic unemployment compensation.--
(A) In general.--Section 2104(b) of the Relief for Workers
Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained in subtitle A of title
II of division A of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136)) is
amended--
(i) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``of $600'' and
inserting ``equal to the amount specified in paragraph (3)'';
and
(ii) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Amount of federal pandemic unemployment
compensation.--
``(A) In general.--The amount specified in this paragraph
is the following amount with respect to an individual:
``(i) For weeks of unemployment beginning after the date on
which an agreement is entered into under this section and
ending on or before July 31, 2020, $600.
``(ii) For weeks of unemployment beginning after the last
week under clause (i) and ending before August 31, 2020, an
amount equal to one of the following, as determined by the
State for all individuals:

``(I) $500.
``(II) $400

``(iii) For weeks of unemployment beginning after the last
week under clause (ii) and ending on or before September 28,
2020, $400.
``(iv) Subject to subparagraph (B), for weeks of
unemployment beginning after the last week under clause (iii)
and ending before December 31, 2020, an amount (not to exceed
$500) equal to one of the following, as determined by the
State for all individuals:

``(I) An amount equal to--

``(aa) 80 percent of the individual's average weekly wages;
minus
``(bb) the individual's base amount (determined prior to
any reductions or offsets).

``(II) If proposed by the State as an alternative to
subclause (I) and approved by the Secretary, an amount that
results in the sum of the base amount and the amount of
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation under this section
being on average equal to 80 percent of lost wages.

``(B) Waiver to provide flat dollar amount.--If a State
determines that it is unable to calculate amounts under
either subclause (I) or (II) of subparagraph (A)(iv), the
State may apply to the Secretary for a waiver under which the
amount specified under subparagraph (A)(iv) shall be $300
rather than the amount calculated under such subclause (I) or
(II).
``(C) Base amount.--For purposes of this paragraph, the
term `base amount' means, with respect to an individual, an
amount equal to--
``(i) for weeks of unemployment under the pandemic
unemployment assistance program under section 2102, the
amount determined under subsection (d)(1)(A)(i) or (d)(2) of
such section 2102, as applicable; or
``(ii) for all other weeks of unemployment, the amount
determined under paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection.
``(D) Average weekly wages.--
``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), for purposes of
this paragraph, the term `average weekly wages' means, with
respect to an individual, the following:

``(I) If the State computes the individual weekly
unemployment compensation benefit amount based on an
individual's average weekly wages in a base period, an amount
equal to the individual's average weekly wages used in such
computation.
``(II) If the State computes the individual weekly
unemployment compensation benefit amount based on high
quarter wages or a formula using wages across some but not
all quarters in a base period, an amount equal to \1/13\ of
such high quarter wages or average wages of the applicable
quarters used in the computation for the individual.
``(III) If the State uses computations other than the
computations under subclause (I) or (II) for the individual
weekly unemployment compensation benefit amount, or for
computations of the weekly benefit amount under the pandemic
unemployment assistance program under section 2102, as
described in subsection (d)(1)(A)(i) or (d)(2) of such
section 2102, for which subclause (I) or (II) do not apply,
an amount equal to \1/52\ of the sum of all base period
wages.

``(ii) Special rule.--If more than one of the methods of
computation under subclauses (I), (II), and (III) of clause
(i) are applicable to a State, then such term shall mean the
amount determined under the applicable subclause of clause
(i) that results in the highest amount of average weekly
wages.''.
(B) Technical amendment regarding application to short-time
compensation programs and agreements.--Section 2104(i)(2) of
the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained
in subtitle A of title II of division A of the CARES Act
(Public Law 116-136)) is amended--
(i) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(E) short-time compensation under section 2108 or
2109.''.
(2) Conforming amendments.--
(A) Pandemic unemployment assistance.--Section 2102(d) of
the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained
in subtitle A of title II of division A of the CARES Act
(Public Law 116-136)) is amended by inserting ``with respect
to the individual'' after ``section 2104'' in each of
paragraphs (1)(A)(ii) and (2).
(B) Pandemic emergency unemployment compensation.--Section
2107 of the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act
(contained in subtitle A of title II of division A of the
CARES Act (Public Law 116-136)) is amended--
(i) in subsection (a)(4)(A)(ii), by inserting ``with
respect to the individual'' after ``section 2104''; and
(ii) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting ``with respect to
the individual'' after ``section 2104''.
(c) Consistent Treatment of Earnings and Unemployment
Compensation.--Section 2104(h) of the Relief for Workers
Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained in subtitle A of title
II of division A of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new sentence:
``The preceding sentence shall not apply to any Federal
Pandemic Unemployment Compensation paid to an individual with
respect to a week of unemployment ending on or after October
5, 2020.''.

[[Page S4872]]

(d) Requirement for Return to Work Notification and
Reporting.--Section 2104(b) of the Relief for Workers
Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained in subtitle A of title
II of division A of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Beginning 30 days after the date of enactment of this
paragraph, any agreement under this section shall require
that the State has in place a process to address refusal to
return to work or refusal of suitable work that includes the
following:
``(A) Providing a plain-language notice to individuals at
the time of applying for benefits regarding State law
provisions relating to each of the following:
``(i) Return to work requirements.
``(ii) Rights to refuse to return to work or to refuse
suitable work.
``(iii) How to contest the denial of a claim that has been
denied due to a claim by an employer that the individual
refused to return to work or refused suitable work.
``(B) Providing a plain-language notice to employers
through any system used by employers or any regular
correspondence sent to employers regarding how to notify the
State if an individual refuses to return to work.
``(C) Other items determined appropriate by the Secretary
of Labor.''.
(e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
(other than the amendment made by subsection (d)) shall take
effect as if included in the enactment of the Relief for
Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (contained in subtitle A
of title II of division A of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-
136)).

SEC. 3. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.

(a) In General.--The amounts provided by this Act and the
amendments made by this Act are designated as an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-
You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)).
(b) Designation in Senate.--In the Senate, this Act and the
amendments made by this Act are designated as an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71
(115th Congress), the concurrent resolution on the budget for
fiscal year 2018.
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