July 16,2025

Wyden, Bennet, Beyer Reintroduce Bicameral Bill to Overhaul Unemployment Insurance

Proposal would bring unemployment insurance into the 21st century by raising base benefits, minimizing disparities among states, creating permanent benefits for self-employed workers, and tying extended weeks of benefits to economic conditions on the ground

Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senator Michael F. Bennet, D-Colo., and U.S. Representative Don Beyer, D-Va., today reintroduced legislation to update and expand unemployment insurance so the program better meets the needs of the modern workforce and is ready to respond should the economy go into a recession in the future.

“There’s no question that our unemployment insurance system is in desperate need of an update,” Wyden said. “American workers who become unemployed by no fault of their own shouldn’t have to worry about putting food on the table and paying their bills as they get back on their feet. This bill modernizes unemployment insurance so working Americans get a 21st century economic lifeline – all while ensuring that we’re keeping up with our changing economy.”

“Too many Americans struggle to access essential unemployment benefits as they navigate a patchwork of outdated state systems,” Bennet said. “Our bicameral bill strengthens unemployment systems across the country to prepare for an economic downturn and help workers stay afloat during difficult times.”

“The last recession again showed the importance of our unemployment insurance system and the desperate need for its expansion and modernization,” Beyer said. “The inadequacy of the system forced Congress to step in and temporarily expand the program, but without permanent reform we remain woefully unprepared for a major crisis. Our bill would make long-overdue improvements to our unemployment system that will help families and the broader economy more easily weather a future economic shock.”

The Unemployment Insurance Modernization and Recession Readiness Act would:

  • Update the federal-state Extended Benefits program so that it will automatically add additional weeks of benefits when unemployment rises.
  • Establish new requirements for state unemployment programs to ensure that benefits are adequate to support workers through job loss and that more workers are covered when they lose their job. This would include requiring that all states offer 26 weeks of benefits, replace 75% of workers’ wages, cover part-time workers, and pay workers for their first week of unemployment — the “waiting week.”
  • Create new permanent federal programs for unemployed workers, including a $250 per week Jobseeker Allowance that would be available to any unemployed workers not covered by the traditional unemployment insurance system, such as self-employed workers and new entrants to the labor force.
  • The bill would also include an additional $25 weekly federal allowance for each dependent an unemployed worker has, and provide federal funding to increase unemployed workers’ wage replacement rates to 100% during major disasters or public health emergencies.

The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Cory Booker, D-N.J.

A section-by-section summary is here.

The text of the bill is here.

Statements of Support

Rebecca Dixon, President and CEO of National Employment Law Project: “The pandemic revealed how absolutely critical unemployment insurance is for supporting jobless workers, their families, and the entire economy. By updating the Extended Benefits program, modernizing regular unemployment insurance, and adding a powerful new jobseeker’s allowance to support workers who are excluded from the current system, the Unemployment Insurance Modernization and Recession Readiness Act will make the system stronger, more equitable, and better prepared for the next recession.”

Michele Evermore, Senior Fellow at National Academy of Social Insurance: “I applaud Senators Wyden and Bennet and Congressman Beyer for their consistent leadership on this issue. The time to think about improving unemployment insurance is now, before the next crisis. Many UI systems across the United States are no longer equipped to support people in an economic downturn. They often do not reach enough people or provide enough income support to keep people afloat. This legislation mainly codifies five decades of bipartisan advisory council recommendations to ensure UI supports people who lose their jobs in the way it was intended.”

Andrew Stettner, Director of Economy and Jobs at The Century Foundation: "The core unemployment insurance system currently only covers 3 in 10 jobless workers. The bill contains overdue reforms that would ensure the workers in every state have the protections they need, and that our entire economy can rely on the economic stabilization UI uniquely provides in times of recession. The time to fix UI is now, so it is there when we need it most."

A letter of support from over 100 organizations is here.

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