[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 144 (Tuesday, September 17, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5253-H5254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1500
 BUILDING ON REEMPLOYMENT IMPROVEMENTS TO DELIVER GOOD EMPLOYMENT FOR 
                              WORKERS ACT

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 5861) to extend reemployment services and 
eligibility assessments to all claimants for unemployment benefits, and 
for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5861

       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 ``Building on Reemployment 
     Improvements to Deliver Good Employment for Workers Act'' or 
     the ``BRIDGE for Workers Act''.

     SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY FOR REEMPLOYMENT SERVICES.

       (a) In General.--Section 306(a) of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 506(a)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``individuals referred to reemployment 
     services as described in section 303(j)'' and inserting 
     ``claimants for regular compensation, including claimants 
     referred to reemployment services as described in section 
     303(j),''; and
       (2) by striking ``such individuals'' and inserting ``such 
     claimants''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the BRIDGE for Workers Act to help 
more Americans who are out of work find employment faster.
  Currently, only those deemed most likely to exhaust their 
unemployment benefits are eligible for job placement services provided 
through the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments program. 
That unfairly limits resources to a small subset of UI recipients, when 
thousands of others could be back in the workforce sooner with this 
assistance. This bill levels the playing field and extends these 
services to every American on unemployment benefits.
  These services are critical for helping Americans find work 
compatible with their experience and skills to help them get back to 
earning a paycheck again.
  Members of Congress have heard over and over again about a labor 
shortage and ``help wanted'' signs dotting storefronts across the 
country. This legislation will help address this shortage by helping 
more unemployed Americans get back into the workforce sooner.
  After fraudsters and criminals stole over $100 billion of 
unemployment benefits during COVID, the bill before us will also 
strengthen program integrity by ensuring claimants are complying with 
eligibility rules. Claimants must be able to work, available to work, 
and actively seeking work.
  This legislation was a bipartisan effort sponsored by the chairman 
and ranking member of the Ways and Means Work and Welfare Subcommittee, 
Representatives LaHood and Davis. I thank them both for their 
leadership in helping the unemployment insurance program fulfill its 
mission of supporting unemployed Americans who are seeking stable work.
  The BRIDGE for Workers Act passed out of committee with every single 
Republican and Democrat voting for it. I hope we can have a repeat 
performance of strong bipartisan support in favor of this legislation 
today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5861, the BRIDGE for Workers 
Act. I am glad to see that the House is moving forward to ensure that 
State reemployment service programs serve the workers who can benefit 
from most of them, as we intended in our original bipartisan 
legislation.
  The Ways and Means Committee reported out this bill nearly a year 
ago, and I hope we can work together to finally enact it this year. As 
you know, this important technical clarification first passed our 
committee, and then the full House on an overwhelming, bipartisan vote 
in 2019, and Senate Republicans prevented it from becoming law.
  Our economic recovery has been historically strong, both in 
comparison to past recessions and compared to our peer countries. The 
right policies in the Biden-Harris American Rescue Plan Act resulted in 
strong GDP growth. Americans are back at work and earning higher wages 
than they were before. Inflation, which was always lower than in our 
peer countries, appears to be leveling off.
  American workers are the heart of our strong economy, and the best 
way to preserve and grow it is to ensure that they can get and keep 
good jobs while also caring for their families. Research shows one way 
we can help people go back to work faster is to ensure that they get 
simple services like job market information or resume help.
  This bipartisan legislation, which I was proud to work with the 
gentleman

[[Page H5254]]

from Illinois (Mr. LaHood) to introduce and move ahead, is key to 
ensuring that the right workers get these job-finding supports. Even a 
week or two of getting a paycheck instead of an unemployment benefit 
makes a difference for a household budget.
  I hope this bill is just the first effort to provide commonsense help 
so that Americans can work and support their families. A good next step 
would be to enact universal paid family and medical leave and 
guaranteed childcare. It is an embarrassment that some continue to 
block enactment of these essential supports that all other developed 
countries provide.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleagues to support 
workers and enact this bipartisan bill before the end of the year. I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood), the chairman of 
our Work and Welfare Subcommittee.
  Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith for his leadership on 
this bill.
  I rise today in strong support of our bill, H.R. 5861, the BRIDGE for 
Workers Act. This bipartisan bill demonstrates our joint commitment in 
Congress to supporting American workers.
  Unemployment insurance is meant to help people without a job get 
through a rough patch and find new opportunity to support themselves 
and their families.
  Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment grants allow States 
to provide services to recipients of unemployment benefits who are 
identified as those who could return to work more quickly. These grants 
are used for job skills training, resume preparation, English as a 
second language classes, and career exploration to connect unemployed 
workers to in-demand jobs.
  Reemployment services have been demonstrated to improve employment 
outcomes and reduce the number of weeks that participants receive 
unemployment benefits. In addition, the program strengthens program 
integrity by ensuring claimants are complying with eligibility rules.

  The bill before us today would make a technical correction to clarify 
that reemployment services provided through these Federal grants can be 
provided to all unemployment insurance claimants, not just those most 
likely to exhaust their benefits, as has been interpreted by the 
Department of Labor.
  I thank my bill's co-lead and fellow Illinoisan and friend,   Danny 
Davis, the ranking member of the Work and Welfare Subcommittee, for his 
work on this bill, which passed out of the Committee on Ways and Means 
with unanimous bipartisan support.
  This legislation provides the permanent flexibility States need to 
make reemployment services a successful tool for those who have lost 
their job through no fault of their own. This really is a bridge to 
help workers. I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time to close.
  This bipartisan legislation will help more Americans in a rough patch 
get back on their feet quickly and back into the workforce.
  Communities across the country are currently in the middle of a 
multiple-year labor shortage. We know this from the companies of all 
sizes and in all industries that have warned what the lack of available 
workers is doing to their business. Some are cutting hours of operation 
or increasing customer wait times, while businesses forfeit 
opportunities to expand and grow because of the lack of labor.
  This shortage makes business less productive, slows down our economy, 
and adds to our national debt. Ultimately, families pay the highest 
price when able-bodied workers can't or don't find new employment.
  This bill takes steps to tackle the labor shortage by expanding 
needed job placement services to individuals receiving unemployment. 
This bipartisan bill is an easy, commonsense win for America's workers 
and small businesses.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to vote to advance this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 5861, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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