ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INCOME SECURITY AND FAMILY SUPPORT

Herger Announces Hearing on Unemployment Benefits and “Returns to Work”

Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Nation’s Unemployment Compensation program and the effect of benefits on recipients’ returns to work. The hearing will take place on Thursday, April 10, 2003, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include researchers and other experts in unemployment issues. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

The Unemployment Compensation program (UC, sometimes also referred to as Unemployment Insurance or UI) is a State-Federal partnership under which benefits are paid to laid-off workers who have a history of attachment to the workforce. Unemployment benefits are meant to provide partial, temporary wage replacement while the laid-off worker looks for a new job or awaits recall to his or her former position. In 2002, $52 billion in State and Federal unemployment benefits were provided to 10 million laid off workers.

A number of studies have noted UC benefits can increase the probability of unemployment and extend the time a person is out of work, among other outcomes. In part to offset such effects, UC and related programs include features designed to assist UC recipients in quickly returning to the labor force. These include a requirement that States target services to certain unemployed workers most likely to exhaust benefits (sometimes called "profiling"), resulting from legislation approved by the full Committee in 1993 (P.L. 103-152). In addition, longstanding program rules require certain recipients to search for work as a condition of collecting benefits.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Herger stated, "The Committee has played a key role in helping unemployed workers as our economy recovers. In the past year, we passed legislation providing extended benefits to 6 million workers and transferring to States $8 billion in Federal unemployment funds. We also must ensure that the way we provide unemployment benefits maximizes the chances that recipients return to work quickly. Numerous studies suggest unemployment benefits extend unemployment and delay returns to work, which is troubling. This hearing will review these issues, and allow us to consider what more we can do to help laid off workers go back to work quickly."

The hearing will review the effect of UC benefits on recipients’ prompt returns to work; it also will review current features of UC and related programs, including profiling and work search requirements, designed to assist workers in quickly returning to work.

Please Note: Due to the change in House mail policy, any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should send it electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, by the close of business, Thursday, April 24, 2003. Those filing written statements who wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing should deliver their 200 copies to the Subcommittee on Human Resources in room B-317 Rayburn House Office Building, in an open and searchable package 48 hours before the hearing. The U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-packaged deliveries to all House Office Buildings.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. Due to the change in House mail policy, all statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, in Word Perfect or MS Word format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. Any statements must include a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers of each witness.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.