BRIDGE for Workers Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1759) to amend title III of the Social Security Act to extend reemployment services and eligibility assessments to all claimants for unemployment compensation, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1759, the BRIDGE for Workers Act, continues our committee's bipartisan work to help Americans who are receiving earned unemployment insurance benefits to get back to work faster.

Unemployment benefits are a vital lifeline for Americans who have lost their jobs, helping them keep the lights on and pay the rent while they search for work. But unemployment benefits replace less than half of a worker's paycheck, on average. Especially for lower paid workers, who may not have any savings to fall back on, the best outcome is to find a new job as quickly as possible.

When you lose your job, it can be difficult to find a new one, especially if you are older, haven't looked for a job in a long time, or have made mistakes in the past. Reemployment services give people looking for help the personal help they need to overcome those barriers.

For instance, States might provide assistance targeted to a claimant's needs, things like customized career and labor market information, help with application materials, or allowing them to practice for tough job interviews.

Last year, we passed important legislation to improve reemployment services and eligibility assessment grants, or RESEAs. Our legislation added important worker protections, gave States incentives to improve the quality of the services being provided for workers, and ensured that sufficient funding is available in every State and territory.

When I asked how RESEA grants were being used in my home State of Illinois, they told me about Tara, who struggled to find a new job after she was laid off, both because her skills weren't up to date for the current labor market and because she had a criminal record. The Illinois RESEA helped her upgrade her job skills and find a job with an employer willing to take a chance, a chance on someone who had made mistakes. She is now working and going to school to get an associate's degree in welding, so she will have better pay and benefits in the future.

The BRIDGE for Workers Act would add important and needed flexibility to allow States to serve all workers who could benefit from reemployment services, not just those who are expected to run out of benefits before finding work.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the National Association of State Workforce Agencies endorsing the BRIDGE for Workers Act.

National Association of State

Workforce Agencies,

Washington, DC, March 13, 2019.

Hon. Stephanie Murphy,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Jackie Walorski,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Xochitl Torres Small,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Darin LaHood,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representatives Murphy, Walorski, Torres Small and

LaHood: We are writing on behalf of the National Association

of State Workforce Agencies

(NASWA) to endorse the BRIDGE for Workers Act and express our

appreciation of your bipartisan effort to authorize the

Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA)

program as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L.

115-245).

Until the passage of the Act, RESEA had been limited to a

widely-successful pilot grant program. Today, States around

the nation now have the ability to accelerate unemployment

insurance (UI) claimants' transition back to employment

faster than non-participants, which is particularly important

in an economy desperately in need of skilled workers.

To enhance these efforts, we are pleased to see the

proposed minor statutory fix proposed in the BRIDGE for

Workers Act that reflects your intent to ensure any UI

claimant, not just those most likely to exhaust their

benefits, are eligible for RESEA services and assessments.

The current language in Section 306 of Act needs to be

modified to ensure this intent is actualized and while the

Appropriations Committee made such a modification in their FY

19 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill, a permanent fix would

provide clarity and stability for states actively focused on

helping claimants return to work expeditiously.

NASWA is the national organization representing all 50

state workforce agencies, D.C. and U.S. territories. These

agencies deliver training, employment, career, and business

services, in addition to administering the unemployment

insurance, veteran reemployment, and labor market information

programs. NASWA provides policy expertise, shares promising

state practices, and promotes state innovation and leadership

in workforce development.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Jon Pierpont,

NASWA Board President, Executive Director, Utah Department

of Workforce Services.

Scott B. Sanders,

NASWA Executive Director.

Mr. Speaker, the BRIDGE for Workers Act will ensure that more workers who need reemployment services get them. Those individuals and workers, like Tara, will get back to work faster, in better jobs, and on a path to a better future.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the BRIDGE for Workers Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Murphy), the sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Judy Chu).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), a member of our subcommittee

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Torres Small), a cosponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I came to this session with the simple notion of coming to do a job and to go do my work. Listening to my colleagues' representations and their articulation of experiences and what this bill really means, I am renewed, and I am delighted because it is an important bill, seriously important.

Yes, in many places the economy is good; people are able to work. But bridges connect and transport, and this bridge connects people to the opportunity to get a job, to go back to work, to be able to take care of their families, to have money so that their children can go to college or they can sustain themselves while their daughter is completing her education.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues, Mrs. Murphy and Ms. Torres Small; the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mrs. Walorski; and Mr. LaHood, my colleague from Illinois, for their ingenuity, creativity, and for the introduction of this tremendous piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1759, the Building on Reemployment Improvements to Deliver Good Employment for Workers Act, also known as the BRIDGE for Workers Act, which I have worked on with my colleagues, Representative Murphy and Representative LaHood.

This legislation builds upon the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, where we made a significant step forward in helping those unemployed, through no fault of their own, by pairing unemployment benefits with services.

Over the last few decades, there has been a focus on automation that has removed all human interaction from the benefit claims process. Beneficiaries have become nothing more than a number entered into a spreadsheet or into a computer database.

During the last recession, we saw that merely providing 99 weeks of unemployment benefits was not enough to help individuals return to the workforce. That is why, in 2012, we offered reemployment services and eligibility assessments, known as RESEAs, to the long-term unemployed based on successful State efforts to engage UI beneficiaries.

Since the recession, many States have rebranded unemployment to reemployment, and focused on efforts to promote rapid reemployment, because it is better for workers, their families, and an economy where we have 1 million more job openings than we have employed.

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 provides States with funding certainty, so they can invest in these services and serve greater numbers of workers. That is why H.R. 1759 is so important. It makes permanent a technical correction first made in FY 2019 appropriations.

This bill clarifies that reemployment services and eligibility assessments shall promote quicker reemployment to shorten benefit durations for all unemployment insurance claimants, not just those likely to exhaust unemployment benefits.

In my home State of Indiana, RESEA was redesigned in 2016 to assist UI claimants through early intervention to aid in a quicker return to meaningful employment and eliminate UI fraud.

Indiana's RESEA program is two-fold. The initial RESEA expects beneficiaries to make an in-person visit to a WorkOne Center on approximately the sixth week of benefits. During that visit, they attend an orientation to learn more about these services, and then meet with a RESEA counselor for a one-on-one assessment interview to develop an individual reemployment plan. That plan may include workshops to improve job search or interviewing skills, or referrals to other supports or services beyond the UI agency.

Any of the RESEA initial participants who are still collecting at the 15th week of their UI claim are contacted for reengagement as part of the subsequent RESEA program. These long-term claimants are brought in for a one-on-one reassessment interview to determine if additional barriers to reemployment are present. At any point in the process where it becomes apparent that additional, more intensive services are needed, the customer then moves into the workforce system to gain more skills.

RESEAS are a valuable reemployment tool for those who have lost their job, through no fault of their own.

Again, I urge support of H.R. 1759, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Estes).

Mr. Speaker, having no other speakers, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers. I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as you have heard today, the ability to pair benefits with services can have a profound effect on the lives of workers and their families. At a time with more than a million more jobs than we actually have unemployed, this effort is especially critical. This bill gives States the flexibility they need to make reemployment services a great success.

Again, I urge support of H.R. 1759, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my full support for H.R. 1759, the BRIDGE for Workers Act, led by Representatives Murphy, Walorski, LaHood, and myself.

Mr. Speaker, my State of New Mexico continues to suffer from one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. In one county in my district, the unemployment rate is 17 percent.

As lawmakers, we must prioritize policies that will help counties across the Nation like Luna County combat systemic problems that are preventing a swift return to the workforce.

Research shows that the longer workers are out of work, the harder it can be to maintain their skills and the more likely workers will fall out of the labor force entirely.

When I was in college, my dad lost his job to funding cuts. My parents and I had just taken out loans so that I could go to college. I remember sitting in class, worried. I was homesick, and I felt powerless to do anything to help my family through that difficult time.

My dad is one of the hardest working people I know. On his own, he got the training he needed to find a job in our hometown, but it took years. We all made sacrifices in the meantime.

I worked multiple jobs, and I graduated in 3 years to help limit that debt, and I took on my parents' loan payments to help out.

Now my dad is a schoolbus driver, and the kids he drives to school, the colleagues he serves as a union president, and our community are all better because of the work that he does. I just wish he had found his second calling earlier.

This bill will help. The earlier we retrain people, the earlier they find new careers. This helps people in their most vulnerable moments. It supports families, and it builds stronger communities.

That is why I am proud to help lead the BRIDGE for Workers Act, which will help unemployed individuals find a job faster so that they can provide for their families and get back on their feet as soon as possible.

This would fix a flaw in the current law that limits reemployment services to only those expected to remain unemployed after their benefits run out.

Reemployment services are essential, as they give people without a job the tools they need to get back to work through programs offering targeted job search assistance, career counseling, and interview and resume workshops. With greater access to these services, unemployed individuals will be more likely to find a job faster and rejoin the workforce.

This bill is also cost effective. Since it allows States to use their reemployment services grants more effectively, individuals will return to work quicker, which will generate more savings for our government.

When Americans who want to work hard get the support they need to do just that, we all succeed. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation and help unemployed Americans across our Nation get back on their feet.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Walorski for her hard work on this particular piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1759, the BRIDGE for Workers Act, also known as the Building on Reemployment Improvements to Deliver Good Employment for Workers Act. I am also proud to join Congresswoman Murphy, Congresswoman Torres Small, and Congressman Davis, my colleague from Illinois, in being part of this bipartisan legislation.

Since becoming a member of the Ways and Means Committee, I have been focused on closing the JOBS Act, improving workforce development, and removing barriers to employment.

It is incumbent upon our Federal Government, in coordination with States and local governments, to ensure that those looking for a job have the necessary tools and skills they need to get back into the workforce.

Last Congress, we worked in a bipartisan fashion to codify into law the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments program, bolstering its funding and improving the effectiveness. These reemployment services include career counseling, resume support, individualized reemployment plans, and access to trainings for those receiving unemployment insurance.

The goal of this program is to promote rapid reemployment and, ultimately, shorten benefit durations for all unemployment insurance claimants, not just those most likely to exhaust all benefits.

This bill makes a technical correction to ensure that States have the flexibility to provide reemployment services to all insurance claimants from a variety of backgrounds and help them return to work more quickly. This legislation builds on the recent law that improved the reemployment service program and will ensure that those in need of these services will be able to access them.

With over 7 million unfilled jobs in this country, it is crucial we work with our States, including my home State of Illinois, to provide the necessary resources to fill these jobs. Finding skilled workers is one of the number one issues in my district and many districts across the country: finding enough relief welders, truck drivers, construction workers, machinists, nurses, technicians, just to name a few.

Empowering individuals to get off the sideline and back into the workforce is something this body should always strive to achieve. Every week that a person is out of work, through no fault of their own, is a week too long. This bipartisan fix to reemployment will help these individuals get back to receiving what they want most: a job and a paycheck.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee for their support on this legislation, and I urge its passage in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the proud sponsor of this bill, the BRIDGE for Workers Act. I want to express my gratitude to the three original cosponsors of this bipartisan legislation: Congresswoman Walorski, Congresswoman Torres Small, and Congressman LaHood. I also thank Chairman Neal and Ranking Member Brady for their leadership on the committee, and Chairman Danny Davis and his staff for all the work they have done on this bill to prepare it for floor consideration.

Mr. Speaker, no American worker wants to be unemployed, and it is vital for our government to provide cost-effective support during that challenging and stressful time. Our focus should be on giving unemployed workers the skills and resources required to return to the workforce as quickly as possible. We want everyone to feel the sense of dignity that comes with earning a paycheck, providing for their family, and contributing to our economy.

One way we support unemployed workers is through the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment program. This program, administered by the Department of Labor, makes annual grants to States and territories to provide a range of services to recipients of unemployment benefits. Services include individual career counseling, assistance with job searches, and information on the local job market.

Under current law, States can only use these grants to assist workers who are expected to exhaust their unemployment benefits without having found a job. That is an unnecessary restriction that prevents many unemployed workers from getting valuable assistance.

Our bill would remove this restriction and allow States to use their grants to provide support to any individual receiving unemployment benefits, as long as the State believes these services would help the individual return to work more quickly. We provided a 1-year patch in the 2019 appropriations bill to make this change temporarily, but this bill would make it permanent.

This is a critical step because research shows the longer workers are out of work, the harder it can be to maintain their skills, their professional networks, and a stable home life. By combining targeted reemployment services with unemployment insurance benefits, we will help keep people attached to the labor force who might otherwise become discouraged and give up looking for a job.

In my home State of Florida, it is estimated this bill could provide up to 25,000 additional individuals claiming unemployment benefits each week with access to reemployment services.

Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask my colleagues to support the bipartisan BRIDGE for Workers Act.