Description:
H.R. 1759 would allow the Department of Labor (DOL) to award grants to states to conduct reemployment services and eligibility assessments for all unemployment claimants. Currently, states can only use those grants to serve claimants that are identified as likely to exhaust regular compensation and thus need job search assistance. DOL requires states, as a condition of receiving the grants, to prioritize those claimants who are unlikely to return to work quickly. CBO assumes that under H.R. 1759 states would continue to operate the program under that long-standing DOL guidance and that DOL would continue to require states to provide reemployment services to high-priority people. However, the states would have more flexibility in how and when they serve claimants for reemployment services. As a result, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1759 would not significantly change the number of people who receive reemployment services and eligibility assessments. Thus, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1759 would have no effect on the federal budget.
