# 119-hr-4439: Unemployment Insurance Modernization and Recession Readiness Act 119-hr-4439, Unemployment Insurance Modernization and Recession Readiness Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Beyer, Donald S. [D-VA-8] (D-VA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4439 - As of: 2026-09-10 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-4439 - Congress: 119 - Title: Unemployment Insurance Modernization and Recession Readiness Act - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2025-07-16 - Sponsor: Rep. Beyer, Donald S. [D-VA-8] (D-VA) - Cosponsors: 0 - Policy area: Labor and Employment - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-09-10 ## Summary **Expands and modernizes unemployment benefits across the country.** This bill would shift extended unemployment to full federal funding, set minimum durations and benefit floors for regular benefits, add a weekly Dependents' Allowance starting in 2027, and create a federally funded Jobseeker Allowance with individual accounts and tiered augmentations tied to high-unemployment periods. - Families would receive a Dependents' Allowance beginning at $25 per dependent per week in 2027, indexed to the Consumer Price Index. - Workers and jobseekers would see broader eligibility and higher pay. The bill would require at least 26 weeks of regular benefits and a weekly benefit floor equal to at least 75% of earnings in the highest base-period quarter, while eliminating the waiting week and allowing part-time work. - States would be fully reimbursed for extended unemployment and for Jobseeker Allowances, gain new coordination and portability rules, and the Secretary of Labor would get new trigger and reporting authority. *The bill authorizes federal funding and appropriations for extended benefits and the Jobseeker Allowance.* ## Provisions PRIA read - Extended benefits start sooner and last longer: benefit, high. This bill would turn on extra weeks when joblessness is high and boost how much you can get. A state or the nation would be “on” when the 3‑month average jobless rate is at least 5.5%. Higher tiers would add bigger amounts and weeks: at 6.5%–7.5% you’d get 100% and 26 weeks; at 7.5%–8.5% you’d get… - Extra unemployment help in emergencies: benefit, high. During a declared public health emergency or a presidential disaster, this bill would create a larger emergency top‑up to unemployment checks. The federal government would pay states 100% of these emergency amounts and reasonable admin costs. The extra payments would not count as income or resource… - New weekly Jobseeker Allowance: benefit, high. This bill would create a federal Jobseeker Allowance paying $250 per week in 2027, with yearly increases tied to CPI‑U. If you are available for under 20 hours per week, you would get half. The allowance would be reduced by any regular or extended unemployment you get for the same week. Your accoun… - Federal funding protects extended benefits: benefit, high. This bill would have the federal government pay states 100% of extended unemployment compensation, except for benefits a state charges to employers through experience rating or in‑lieu payments. It would cut a specified federal offset by 50%, easing funding interactions. It would also exempt extend… - Easier to qualify for unemployment: benefit, medium. This bill would make it easier to qualify based on recent work. States would have to count the four most recent completed quarters, including the most recent one before your claim. If you missed work or had reduced pay for health, parental, or caregiving reasons, the state would look back at least… - Faster, bigger unemployment checks: benefit, medium. This bill would raise the floor for weekly checks and speed up payments. States would have to pay the first eligible week right away, with no waiting week. Your weekly amount would be at least 75% of your highest‑quarter earnings divided by 13, up to the state maximum. Each state’s maximum weekly b… - More reasons you can get unemployment: benefit, medium. This bill would protect more people who leave or lose a job. You could get benefits if you left for a compelling reason the Labor Department defines, like caring for a sick family member, losing child care, moving with a spouse, unsafe work, or employer law violations. Quitting to escape domestic v… - Support for self-employment assistance: benefit, low. This bill would require states to pay allowances under a defined self‑employment assistance program. It clarifies how states must structure payments for people building a business while unemployed. This would apply to weeks on or after state compliance or January 1, 2027. - Part-time and short-time benefit rules: mixed, medium. This bill would help part-time workers keep more benefits, but tighten one short-time program rule. States would have to ignore at least one‑third of your weekly benefit amount when counting weekly earnings for partial benefits, if you work less than full time and keep looking for work. States coul… - Unemployment fixes for school staff and students: mixed, low. This bill would allow retroactive payments if you were denied due only to the academic‑year rule and were not offered work for the next term, as long as you filed timely claims. It would also revise which student service rules apply under state unemployment law, for service performed on or after Ja… ## Related bills - 119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025 - 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act - 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act - 119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act - 119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act - 119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act ## Sources - [119-hr-4439 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4439) ## Related - [119-hr-6900: American Affordability Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6900) - [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977) - [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973) - [119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5658) - [119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3971) - [119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3069) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4439 (as of 2026-09-10).