[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 18, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H10532-H10534]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RAILROAD UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1996

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2594) to amend the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to 
reduce the waiting period for benefits payable under that act, and for 
other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2594

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Railroad Unemployment 
     Insurance Amendments Act of 1996''.

     SEC. 2. WAITING PERIOD FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.

       Subparagraph (A) of section 2(a)(1) of the Railroad 
     Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 352(a)(1)(A)) is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(A) Payment of Unemployment Benefits.--
       ``(i) Generally.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     subparagraph, benefits shall be payable to any qualified 
     employee for each day of unemployment in excess of 4 during 
     any registration period within a period of continuing 
     unemployment.
       ``(ii) Waiting period for first registration period.-- 
     Benefits shall be payable to any qualified employee for each 
     day of unemployment in excess of 7 during that employee's 
     first registration period in a period of continuing 
     unemployment if such period of continuing unemployment is the 
     employee's initial period of continuing unemployment 
     commencing in the benefit year.
       ``(iii) Strikes.--
       ``(I) Initial 14-day waiting period.--If the Board finds 
     that a qualified employee has a period of continuing 
     unemployment that includes days of unemployment due to a 
     stoppage of work because of a strike in the establishment, 
     premises, or enterprise at which such employee was last 
     employed, no benefits shall be payable for such employee's 
     first 14 days of unemployment due to such stoppage of work.
       ``(II) Subsequent days of unemployment.--For subsequent 
     days of unemployment due to the same stoppage of work, 
     benefits shall be payable as provided in clause (i) of this 
     subparagraph.
       ``(III) Subsequent periods of continuing unemployment.--If 
     such period of continuing unemployment ends by reason of 
     clause (v) but the stoppage of work continues, the waiting 
     period established in clause (ii) shall apply to the 
     employee's first registration period in a new period of 
     continuing unemployment based upon the same stoppage of work.
       ``(iv) Definition of period of continuing unemployment.--
     Except as limited by clause (v), for the purposes of this 
     subparagraph, the term `period of continuing unemployment' 
     means--
       ``(I) a single registration period that includes more than 
     4 days of unemployment;
       ``(II) a series of consecutive registration periods, each 
     of which includes more than 4 days of unemployment; or
       ``(III) a series of successive registration periods, each 
     of which includes more than 4 days of unemployment, if each 
     succeeding registration period begins within 15 days after 
     the last day of the immediately preceding registration 
     period.
       ``(v) Special rule regarding end of period.--For purposes 
     of applying clause (ii), a period of continuing unemployment 
     ends when an employee exhausts rights to unemployment 
     benefits under subsection (c) of this section.
       ``(vi) Limit on amount of benefits.--No benefits shall be 
     payable to an otherwise eligible employee for any day of 
     unemployment in a registration period where the total amount 
     of the remuneration (as defined in section 1(j)) payable or 
     accruing to him for days within such registration period 
     exceeds the amount of the base year monthly compensation 
     base. For purposes of the preceding sentence, an employee's 
     remuneration shall be deemed to include the gross amount of 
     any remuneration that would have become payable to that 
     employee but did not become payable because that employee was 
     not ready or willing to perform suitable work available to 
     that employee on any day within such registration period.''.

     SEC. 3. WAITING PERIOD FOR SICKNESS BENEFITS.

       Subparagraph (B) of section 2(a)(1) of the Railroad 
     Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 352(a)(1)(B)) is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(B) Payment of Sickness Benefits.--
       ``(i) Generally.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     subparagraph, benefits shall be payable to any qualified 
     employee for each day of sickness after the 4th consecutive 
     day of sickness in a period of continuing sickness but 
     excluding 4 days of sickness in any registration period in 
     such period of continuing sickness.
       ``(ii) Waiting period for first registration period.--
     Benefits shall be payable to any qualified employee for each 
     day of sickness in excess of 7 during that employee's first 
     registration period in a period of continuing sickness if 
     such period of continuing sickness is the employee's initial 
     period of continuing sickness commencing in the benefit year. 
     For the purposes of this clause, the first registration 
     period in a period of continuing sickness is that 
     registration period that first begins with 4 consecutive days 
     of sickness and includes more than 4 days of sickness.
       ``(iii) Definition of period of continuing sickness.--For 
     the purposes of this subparagraph, a period of continuing 
     sickness means--
       ``(I) a period of consecutive days of sickness, whether 
     from 1 or more causes; or
       ``(II) a period of successive days of sickness due to a 
     single cause without interruption of more than 90 consecutive 
     days which are not days of sickness.
       ``(iv) Special rule regarding end of period.--For purposes 
     of applying clause (ii), a period of continuing sickness ends 
     when an employee exhausts rights to sickness benefits under 
     subsection (c) of this section.''.

     SEC. 4. MAXIMUM DAILY BENEFIT RATE.

       Paragraph (3) of section 2(a) of the Railroad Unemployment 
     Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 352(a)(3)) is amended to read as 
     follows:
       ``(3) The maximum daily benefit rate computed by the Board 
     under section 12(r)(2) shall be the product of the monthly 
     compensation base, as computed under section 1(i)(2) for the 
     base year immediately preceding the beginning of the benefit 
     year, multiplied by 5 percent. If the maximum daily benefit 
     rate so computed is not a multiple of $1, it shall be rounded 
     down to the nearest multiple of $1.''.

     SEC. 5. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF DAYS FOR BENEFITS.

       (a) In General.--Subsection (c) of section 2 of the 
     Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 352(c)) is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(c) Maximum Number of Days for Benefits.--
       ``(1) Normal benefits.--
       ``(A) Generally.--The maximum number of days of 
     unemployment within a benefit year for which benefits may be 
     paid to an employee shall be 130, and the maximum number of 
     days of sickness within a benefit year for which benefits may 
     be paid to an employee shall be 130.
       ``(B) Limitation.--The total amount of benefits that may be 
     paid to an employee for days of unemployment within a benefit 
     year shall in no case exceed the employee's compensation in 
     the base year; and the total amount of benefits that may be 
     paid to an employee for days of sickness within a benefit 
     year shall in no case exceed the employee's compensation in 
     the base year, except that notwithstanding section 1(i), in 
     determining the employee's compensation in the base year for 
     the purpose of this sentence, any money remuneration paid to 
     the employee for services rendered as an employee shall be 
     taken into account that is not in excess of an amount that 
     bears the same ratio to $775 as the monthly compensation base 
     for that year as computed under section 1(i) bears to $600.
       ``(2) Extended benefits.--
       ``(A) Generally.--With respect to an employee who has 10 or 
     more years of service as defined in section 1(f) of the 
     Railroad Retirement Act of 1974, who did not voluntarily 
     retire and (in a case involving exhaustion of rights to 
     normal benefits for days of unemployment) did not voluntarily 
     leave work without good cause, and who had current rights to 
     normal benefits for days of unemployment or days of sickness 
     in a benefit year but has exhausted such rights, the benefit 
     year in which such rights are exhausted shall be deemed not 
     to be ended until the last day of the extended benefit period 
     determined under this paragraph, and extended unemployment 
     benefits or extended sickness benefits (depending on the type 
     of normal benefit rights exhausted) may be paid for not more 
     than 65 days of unemployment or 65 days of sickness within 
     such extended benefit period.

[[Page H10533]]

       ``(B) Beginning date.--An employee's extended benefit 
     period shall begin on the employee's first day of 
     unemployment or first day of sickness, as the case may be, 
     following the day on which the employee exhausts the 
     employee's then current rights to normal benefits for days of 
     unemployment or days of sickness and shall continue for 7 
     consecutive 14-day periods, each of which shall constitute a 
     registration period, but no such extended benefit period 
     shall extend beyond the beginning of the first registration 
     period in a benefit year in which the employee is again 
     qualified for benefits in accordance with section 3 on the 
     basis of compensation earned after the first of such 
     consecutive 14-day periods has begun.
       ``(C) Termination when employee reaches age of 65.--
     Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, an 
     extended benefit period for sickness benefits shall terminate 
     on the day next preceding the date on which the employee 
     attains age 65, except that it may continue for the purpose 
     of paying benefits for days of unemployment.
       ``(3) Accelerated benefits.--
       ``(A) General rule.--With respect to an employee who has 10 
     or more years of service as defined in section 1(f) of the 
     Railroad Retirement Act of 1974, who did not voluntarily 
     retire, and (in a case involving unemployment benefits) did 
     not voluntarily leave work without good cause, who has 14 or 
     more consecutive days of unemployment, or 14 or more 
     consecutive days of sickness, and who is not a qualified 
     employee with respect to the general benefit year current 
     when such unemployment or sickness commences but is or 
     becomes a qualified employee for the next succeeding general 
     benefit year, such succeeding general benefit year shall, in 
     that employee's case, begin on the first day of the month in 
     which such unemployment or sickness commences.
       ``(B) Exception.--In the case of a succeeding benefit year 
     beginning in accordance with subparagraph (A) by reason of 
     sickness, such sentence shall not operate to permit the 
     payment of benefits in the period provided for in such 
     sentence for any day of sickness beginning with the date on 
     which the employee attains age 65, and continuing through the 
     day preceding the first day of the next succeeding general 
     benefit year.
       ``(C) Determination of age.--For the purposes of this 
     subsection, the Board may rely on evidence of age available 
     in its records and files at the time determinations of age 
     are made.''.
       (b) Repeal of Deadwood Provision.--Section 2(h) of the 
     Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 352(h)) is 
     repealed.
       (c) Repeal of Expired Provision.--Section 17 of the 
     Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 368), relating 
     to payment of supplemental unemployment benefits, is 
     repealed.

     SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the 
     date of the enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster] and the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. 
Borski] each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster].
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2594, the Railroad 
Unemployment Insurance Amendments of 1996. This bill was reported out 
of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure last November and 
enjoyed the full support of both labor and rail management.
  This bill is good for railroad workers. It reforms, it has reforms in 
it which are very significant. It will increase the daily unemployment 
benefits for railroad workers from $36 to $42, in line with other 
nonrailroad workers. It reduces the waiting period before benefits 
begin to accrue from 14 days to 7 days. This will produce an immediate 
gain of $294 for any unemployed rail worker.
  It is no secret that the railroads have been reducing the size of 
their work forces. In fact, rail employment is less than half what it 
was in 1975.
  By increasing unemployment benefits for rail workers to bring them in 
line with other nonrail workers across America, H.R. 2594 provides a 
little more security for workers who know that they, too, could one day 
be affected by a layoff.
  It is high time that the rail unemployment benefits were reformed. 
Some of my colleagues may remember that a virtually identical bill was 
passed by the 103d Congress. The legislation was never taken up by the 
Senate. The issue has languished ever since. We now have an opportunity 
to get this bill passed. It should not be missed. Both rail labor and 
rail management support this legislation. I urge my colleagues to 
support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the bill, and I 
yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski].
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
for yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2594, the Railroad 
Unemployment Insurance Amendments Act of 1996.
  This bill has been pending for over 3 years. It was first introduced 
by our former colleague Al Swift in the 103d Congress. It passed the 
House on suspension but, like too many other good bills, died in the 
other body when a single Senator put a hold on it.
  The bill was introduced again last year by the bipartisan leadership 
of our committee and was quickly reported out by a voice vote. The bill 
is supported by both Republicans and Democrats, by both rail labor and 
rail management. The bill has four major provisions. Two favor 
management and the other two favor labor. Both sides feel the bill is a 
good deal for them.
  The bill raises benefit levels so that they are more in line with 
benefits being paid by the States for nonrailroad employees. It also 
shortens the waiting time before rail workers qualify for unemployment 
and sickness benefits. On the other hand, it reduces the number of 
weeks of benefits received by employees with more than 15 years 
seniority, and it places a limit on the earnings of employees who are 
receiving benefits.
  Action on this bill has been held up by having various controversial 
amendments attached to it in the past. The manager's amendment makes 
some clarifying changes to the committee-reported bill that have been 
worked out jointly by the majority and minority staffs. I am happy to 
report that we now have a clean bill that all of us can support. I 
recommend the bill to my colleagues and urge its passage.

                              {time}  1145

  Mr. BORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I simply emphasize there are no taxpayer dollars 
involved in this. This is totally financed by the railroad industry and 
the railroad workers.
  With that, I urge support.
  Mr. ARCHER. Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Ways and Means has a strong 
historical interest and involvement in the financing of the railroad 
unemployment compensation [RRUC] system. The RRUC has been in existence 
since 1938. Railroad workers were initially covered by the unemployment 
provisions of the Social Security Act of 1935, until the Railroad 
Unemployment Insurance Act (Public Law 75-722) was passed in 1938 to 
provide a uniform unemployment insurance system for railroad workers.
  The committee has been closely involved in recent legislation 
concerning the RRUC. The Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 
1988 (Public Law 100-647) increased the railroad unemployment and 
sickness daily benefit rate, indexed future benefit rates, qualifying 
earnings requirements and the contribution base to national wage 
levels, established a waiting period for benefits, and included other 
measures to improve the railroad unemployment insurance system's 
financing. The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1991, as 
amended in November 1993 (Public Laws 102-164 and 103-152), provided 
temporary extended State unemployment benefits, and also provided 
temporary extended benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance 
Act.
  The railroad unemployment and sickness benefit programs are financed 
by payroll taxes on railroad employers. The Railroad Unemployment 
Insurance and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Administration Accounts 
are part of the Federal Unemployment Trust Fund.
  Since 1959, the Railroad Unemployment Trust Fund has been able to 
borrow funds from the railroad pension fund when employer taxes have 
not been sufficient to cover the costs of unemployment and sickness 
benefits. The RRUC program became depleted during the 1960's and 
1970's. A rapid decline in 1981 and 1982 in railroad employment 
resulted in substantial borrowing from the pension system which reached 
peak levels at the end of 1986. Financial measures to assist the 
Railroad Unemployment Insurance Account were included in the Railroad 
Retirement Solvency Act enacted August 12, 1983.
  A temporary repayment tax on railroad employers began on July 1, 
1986, to initiate repayment of the loans made by the Railroad 
Retirement Account. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 
of April 1986

[[Page H10534]]

(Public Law 99-272) amended the temporary unemployment insurance loan 
repayment tax beginning July 1, 1986, continued authority for borrowing 
by the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Account from the Railroad 
Retirement Account, and provided a contingency surtax on rail employers 
if further borrowing took place. The contingency surtax was replaced in 
1991 by a surcharge added to employers' unemployment insurance taxes 
for a calendar year if the balance in the unemployment insurance 
account goes below $100 million.
  The 1988 Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act railroad 
unemployment insurance amendments improved financing by indexing the 
tax base to average national wages and experience-rating employer 
contributions. The 1988 amendments required the Board to make annual 
financial reports to Congress on the status of the unemployment 
insurance system. The unemployment insurance financial report that was 
submitted in June 1993, before the loan was repaid in full, stated that 
the experience-based contribution rates would keep the system solvent, 
even under the most pessimistic employment assumptions. The report also 
indicated that no new loans will be required during the 10-year 
projection period (fiscal years 1993-2002). The Board therefore 
recommended no changes to the system at that time. However, given the 
cash outlay subsequently applied to the repayment of the prior loans, 
subsequent estimates indicate that new loans in small amounts could, 
under pessimistic assumptions, possibly be required during part of the 
projection period.
  With respect to H.R. 2594, the benefit increases contained in the 
bill are offset by increased tax revenues on rail employers by 
operation of current law, since employer contributions increase 
automatically as benefits increase. Therefore, no changes to the 
revenue laws are required to implement the provisions of H.R. 2594. 
However, because of the recent history of financial difficulties in the 
RRUC system, the committee will continue to closely monitor the overall 
financial solvency of the RRUC system, especially in light of this most 
recent benefit increase.
  Mr. WISE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2594. This 
bipartisan bill is long overdue and will greatly improve the 
unemployment insurance system for the over 4,200 railroad workers in my 
home State of West Virginia.
  This legislation was crafted by both management and labor of our 
Nation's railroad and will amend the existing unemployment insurance 
system. Last November the House Transportation and Infrastructure 
Committee marked up this bill and unanimously recommended passage by 
the full House.
  This legislation will make several needed changes to the railroad 
unemployment insurance system. First, it will increase the maximum 
daily benefits from $36 to $42 for the current benefit year and 
establish a new formula for determining the benefits so that they will 
increase automatically in the future. Second, this legislation will 
shorten the waiting period before and employee is eligible to receive 
unemployment and sickness benefits from 14 days to 7 days. These 
changes are especially important to railroad workers who experience 
seasonal layoffs during the winter months.
  This bill is a reasonable balance between labor and management 
concerns and I applaud both sides for their willingness to work 
together on this legislation. I support this bill and hope that my 
colleagues in the other body would act on this legislation quickly.
  Ms. MOLINARI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2594, the 
Railroad Unemployment Insurance Amendments Act of 1996. This important 
legislation will modernize railroad unemployment and sickness benefits 
so that they are more in keeping with the State systems that apply to 
all other industries.
  Too often Republicans are accused of supporting the interests of big 
business over those of the working people. I am pleased today to stand 
in support of legislation that will directly benefit the interests of 
working people. H.R. 2594 will increase the daily benefits payable to 
unemployed rail workers from $36 to $42. It will also reduce the 
waiting time before benefits begin to accrue from 14 days to 7 days. 
This means an automatic increase of $294 for any qualified employees. 
The cost to the industry of these increased benefits will be partially 
offset by a reduction in the maximum number of days of extended 
benefits, and a reduction in the permissible amount of outside income.
  These increased rail unemployment benefits will not impost any 
additional costs on the American taxpayer. Because the railroad 
unemployment system is funded through payroll taxes, the industry will 
bear the full costs of the new benefits.
  This bill has been awaiting enactment for a long time. The House 
passed virtually identical legislation in the 103d Congress, but it was 
never taken up by the Senate. Because of the complicated budgetary 
effects of the legislation, it has taken a long time to be able to 
bring the legislation to this point. I also want to thank my colleagues 
on the Budget Committee for assisting our efforts in bringing this 
legislation forward.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2594.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bereuter). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster] that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2594, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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