BRIDGE for Workers Act advances to Senate for action

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved legislation that would provide states with greater flexibility in administering existing unemployment benefits so that more Americans can find good-paying jobs.

The measure now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

“I am proud to see this strong bipartisan effort from the [U.S. House] Ways and Means Committee pass the House and I urge the Senate to pass it swiftly,” said U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), who sponsored the bipartisan Building on Reemployment Improvements to Deliver Good Employment (BRIDGE) for Workers Act, H.R. 5861, in October 2023 with cosponsor U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL).

If enacted, the bill would permanently expand the allowable purposes for certain U.S. Department of Labor grants to states for reemployment services and eligibility assessments.

Specifically, the bill would permanently allow these grants to be used to fund reemployment services and eligibility assessments for all claimants for unemployment compensation, according to the congressional record bill summary.

Under the current statute, the grants may only be used to provide such services to a subset of claimants who have been identified by the state as likely to exhaust unemployment benefits and need job search assistance to become employed. However, in recent years, annual appropriations acts have allowed the grants to be used for all claimants for unemployment compensation and H.R. 5861 would make this authority permanent.

“The United States currently has 1.2 unfilled jobs for every unemployed worker, which underscores the need for Congress to incentivize individuals to get back into the workforce,” said LaHood. “The BRIDGE for Workers Act will provide more flexibility to the states and give individuals on unemployment greater access to workforce development tools, which will strengthen our communities and our economy.”

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